97. COLGATE’S PROOF: The Only Toothpaste with MFP Fluoride, 1975

THE PROOF, AND NOTHING BUT THE PROOF. Launch print ad,1975.

For the longest time, Colgate had a monopoly of the toothpaste market, but new brands began to surface by the 1970s. Some, like PRC’s (Phil. Refining Co,) Close-Up targetted the youth market, while P&G was cooking up plans to launch Crest, already a leading U.S. brand.

Thus, to pre-empt competition and to consolidate its hold in the market, Colgate introduced New PROOF Toothpaste, touted to be the only brand with monofluorophospate—MFP Fluoride—that is clinically proven to reduce tooth decay. This revolutionary ingredient does not stain teeth, and makes them less sensitive to hot or cold liquids and food.

New PROOF carried over Colgate’s dentist-backed credentials in its advertising, which has worked very well for the mother brand. The communication strategy capitalized on the clinical tests conducted on the efficacy of MFP Fluoride in the U.S., Germany and Australia against tooth decay.

WATCH "PROOF" TVC HERE:

Colgate’s New PROOF was launched in 1974 or 1975 via a tri-media campaign, endorsed as usual by the PDA (Philippine Dental Association). “Only a dentist can give a better fluoride treatment”—so went the selling line.

WATCH NEW PROOF TVC version 2, 

uploaded by Pinoy Philippine Television Here:

It anticipated for a few years the massive launch of  Procter and Gamble's CREST Toothpaste and the  unbeatable cavity-fighting power of Fluoristat—not to mention its strong made-in-America appeal. CREST made significant inroads into the Colgate-dominated toothpaste market, leading the company to use PROOF even more to defend their turf. If CREST had Fluoristat, PROOF had Fluorigard, and this was flounted in TV Ads all throughout the 1980s, escalating the toothpaste war beween Colgate and P&G.

Today, in some countries like UK and Australia, Colgate has retained the PROOF brand, as Colgate Total PROOF.

SOURCES:

youtube: New Proof Toothpaste (Philippines) old (version 2) , uploaded by Pinoy Philippine Television, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuDVEkaUtJA
youtube, Colgate Proof Classic TVC, uploaded by ADman1909, on 13 Sept. 2007. Colgate Proof

Woman's Home Companion, 1975 issue