Why did we need another deodorant? Watching this Sure commercial now, I see a whole product line built around insecurity. Make us wonder whether we should raise an arm, then sell us the confidence to do it!
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“Raise your hand if you’re Sure.”
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That line certainly stuck. Tennis, cycling, shopping, directing traffic: apparently, every ordinary activity was an opportunity to demonstrate underarm confidence. They even brought in the Statue of Liberty. She’d already committed to keeping that arm up!
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Sure’s antiperspirant went nationwide in 1973, but the advertising idea was much older. Decades earlier, deodorant ads warned women that body odor could ruin their romantic prospects and told men it could hurt their careers. Sure put a cheerful tune and smiling faces around that familiar worry.
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And here’s a musical connection I wouldn’t have expected: Sure jingle writer Jake Holmes also recorded the original “Dazed and Confused” in 1967, before Led Zeppelin made its adaptation famous. He also co-wrote Frank Sinatra’s Watertown album with Bob Gaudio.
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From Sinatra to selling us confidence in a can. That’s quite a résumé!
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I’m not arguing against deodorant. I’m remembering how many commercials taught us to worry about whether everyone else could notice something wrong with us. Bad breath, dandruff, ring around the collar, underarm wetness. Getting through the day apparently required a whole shopping cart.
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Did you use Sure, or do you mainly remember the jingle?
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#SureDeodorant #RaiseYourHandIfYoureSure #ClassicCommercials #80sCommercials #80sNostalgia #VintageAdvertising #JakeHolmes #RetroTV #TheRetroSite
Raise Your Hand If You Remember This Sure Commercial
