22nd Jul 2009
Putting the Soap in Opera
Image from Shorpy
Oxydol is the brand of soap that I grew up using in Ohio. Oddly, despite its early- and mid-century nationwide appeal, by the 80’s and 90’s it seems to have been available only around Cincinnati, where Proctor & Gamble (the manufacturer) is based. I am unable to find it in stores elsewhere in the country (Boston, South Carolina, and even Indiana), and Buzz (who grew up in Michigan and Oregon) had never heard of it before I started gathering tidbits for this blog post.
I was actually curious about that for a while, since it seemed unlikely my very brand-loyal mother would have switched to a “local” detergent once she moved to Ohio after growing up in New York; Oxydol must have been sold in many more places earlier in the century, like when Mom would have done laundry with Grandma in the 50’s and 60’s… and it turns out Oxydol was one of the brands that were responsible for the term “soap opera.”
It didn’t mean much on that December day in 1933, but the debut of OXYDOL’S OWN MA PERKINS marked the beginning of the dominance Procter & Gamble would eventually have in sponsoring the daytime serials on radio and television. With the numerous P&G soap products sponsoring the serials, the program earned the slang name “Soap Opera.” This didn’t set too well with the sponsors of drug and food products, who were also popular sponsors of daytime serials. I acknowledge the drug and food companies had a valid complaint, but when it comes to the serial’s slang name, I leave you with this thought— “would you want to listen to a Drug Opera?” — Old Time Radio
So now I’m wondering if great-grandma was the original adaptor of Oxydol, thanks to its revolutionary suds-making ability and use of sponsorship as advertising….
Listening to this 1935 episode, there’s little of the modern tropes associated with soap operas — the show concentrates a lot more on emphasizing the everyday nature of Ma Perkins and her family’s drama rather than featuring fake deaths, evil twins, and frequent torrid sexual affairs.
And now, everybody ready for the story of Ma Perkins, America’s mother…. The homely, home-town drama. The true life story of a simple, plain, everyday woman. Ma to everyone who knows her…. Ma is a widow with three children, and a business to take care of, a business she’s had to learn by hard knocks.
Son John pitches a fit that Daughter Faye didn’t cook supper on time (and apparently never cooks supper or cleans the house), and Faye gets angry and insists she wants to go to the Big City and get a job. Take a listen for yourself at Rand’s Esoteric OTR.
Compare that to the serious melodrama from an episode of Mary Noble, Backstage Wife (sponsored by Dr. Lyons Tooth Powder, another P&G product):
Yesterday, Larry took Mary to an old rendesvous in hope of breaking down the barriers that have caused them to live apart for the past few months. Mary does not know that Larry is aware of her secret, that he is to become a father. Although reconciliation seemed near, troubles involving Larry’s half-brother Bob broke up what promised to be a perfect evening. Mary received a mysterious telephone call, warning her that if Bob Noble turned State’s evidence against the counterfeit ring with which he had become involved, he would not live 24 hours after being released by the treasury agents. Now, a short time later, Mary and Larry are in a taxi bound for Mary’s Greenwich Village studio. Realizing it was she who persuaded Bob Noble to surrender to the government agents and throw himself on the mercy of the court, Mary feels responsible for his danger, and is nervous and upset. Larry is doing his best to comfort her. Listen…
That’s more like it — secret pregnancies, half-brothers, and a counterfeit ring.
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