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Vicks has been a trustworthy brand since Jayant Kruplani was coughing his throat (saying ‘kheech kheech’) for the first time on TV in 1982. Vicks is permanently available in every Indian household. Whether you find anything else in the house immediately or not, the small blue colour bottle of the Vicks Vaporub is always hand-held.
But, have we ever thought about who invented the Vicks? How would Vicks be so rewarding?
Actually, Vicks was launched in India seven decades after it was discovered. Then, it got a unique identity and a global presence. In 1964, Vicks Vaporub was brought to India by a public limited company named Richardson Hindustan Limited (RHL). The office of the parent company Richardson Merrell had been in India since 1951. At that time, it was the only public limited company with over 10,000 Indian shareholders. In 1964, the brand received operational freedom.
But, let's go back a few years. In 1894, Lunsford Richardson, a pharmacist and Latin scholar was not happy with the Politics (certain medications that relieve colds) and vapour lamps available to relieve the common cold. Another belief is that Richardson's daughter had a severe cold and a cough. His other three daughters were also infected due to this and they also became ill. At last, he was fed up with old medicines and Richardson invented Vicks.
However, this person was a genius. By 1894, he had patented 21 drugs. Moreover, this person had amazing marketing skill. He said, “Nothing to swallow, apply it externally.” Which means the patient does not need to swallow a pill anymore, but just apply a cream on the external part to get rid of the internal disease from the body. People liked it and the market was booming.
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The story of naming ‘Vicks’ is also amazing.
Richardson’s own name was too long to fit on the small bottle, so he decided to choose a short name. When we apply this ointment to the body, due to methanol in it, the body releases heat in the form of steam (means vapor). So ‘vaporub’ was finalized but the brand name was not finalized yet. Richardson's name was big and he thought about another name. His brother-in-law's name was Joshua Vick. He dedicated the product to him and named it as Vicks Vaporub. Unfortunately, instead of his name, he named the product after other’s names. Perhaps, if he had used his name, the whole world would have known him today. Until 1906, Richardson's name was on the pack. But then, in 1911 Richardson's son decided to write only ‘Vicks Vaporub’ and Richardson's name was removed.
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They targeted children and showed that Vicks is the only option for common cold and cough. In 1930, adults were also targeted and they released a radio show called Vicks Romantic Bachelor. For promoting various Vicks products, they made Ads narrating that sneezing and coughing publicly is a very disgusting thing to do and presented it on radio too.
Winter and monsoon in India are prime seasons when Vicks are heavily consumed.
Despite the boycott by pharmacists in India and protests across India, Vicks stood still. It was not affected. This way, a western brand is bound with an indispensable relation as an Indian brand.
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