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Calgon is a brand registered trademark of different corporations.
Companies
The brands have their origin in the Calgon Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was acquired by Merck in 1968 and then broken up and sold off. Calgon was broken into: Calgon water softener, sold to Reckitt Benckiser; Calgon beauty products, sold to Coty, Inc.; Calgon Carbon Corporation, was acquired by its management in a leveraged buyout in 1985 and taken public in 1987;http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history/Ca-Ch/Calgon-Carbon-Corporation.html Calgon Vestal Laboratories, sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1994;http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE5D8143EF937A35752C1A962958260 and Nu-Calgon.
Iconic advertisements
In North American pop culture, Calgon's advertisements have generated several popular catch phrases and/or definitions.
"Calgon, take me away!"
In this advertisement, a woman is seen in a chaotic home scenario. As tension rises, she utters her famous line "Calgon, take me away!". The next scene shows her relaxing in a luxurious bath in a quiet room.Despite being viewed as somewhat sexist (ie. that women need to be rescued from chaotic situations), the commercial is viewed as having been a success since people still remember it even though it has not been aired in many years. Even today, an escape from a difficult day or situation is often referred to as a Calgon moment.
"Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
This commercial was for Calgon water softener.A Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee", a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent, "Ancient Chinese secret."
The scene changes to Mrs. Lee, who is in an adjoining room. Mrs. Lee is also ethnically Chinese, but she speaks English with a thoroughly American accent, and explains to the audience that her husband's "ancient Chinese secret" is that he uses Calgon water softener.
Mrs. Lee ultimately gives the secret away by sticking her head into the front room where Mr. Lee and the customer are standing, and shouts "We need more Calgon!" To which the customer replies "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
This commercial is one also remembered by people many years after it has aired. It has been viewed by some groups as continuing a stereotype that all laundry services are run by Chinese immigrants, but it could equally be viewed as a satire of that stereotype.
Calgon water softener adverts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in the rest of Europe promote the product solely on the basis of saving washing machines from breakdown rather than any benefits to the clothing in the wash, although the products on sale are identical to those in the United States. In Portugal, the Calgon advertisement jingle is the same popular one, for almost 30 years.
Cultural References
Music
- In "Shake It Off", the third single from Mariah Carey's 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey sings "Just like the Calgon commercial, I really gotta get up out of here..."
- Kanye West's album Late Registration, the song "Gone" mentions "...and we used to bubble like a tub full of Calgon..." in reference to a dead friend.
- The female punk band L7 also references Calgon in the song Diet Pill ("...Calgon can't take me away from the things I did today.") off their 1992 Bricks are Heavy album.
- Underground hip hop group, Modill, reference Calgon in their song "Send Me to Bliss" where MC Racecar details his frustrations with life and utters the line, "I should be concentrating spittin' rhymes like Parkay, thinking Playstation, Calgon, take me away!"
- The band, Clem Snide, reference Calgon in their song, "Ancient Chinese Secret Blues" ("Calgon take me away") off their album, The Ghost of Fashion.
Television and Film
- The Calgon water softener commercial was parodied in the television series Arrested Development (the "Sword of Destiny" episode from season 2).
- Saturday Night Live (on the episode hosted by Jackie Chan. The commercial parody is almost accurate, save for the part where Chan beats up a customer by Chris Parnell for discovering the "Ancient Chinese Secret" and threatening to kill him if he reveals it).
- The product was also featured in the movie Wayne's World 2.
Notes
"Calgon"