Product type Hair care Tagline Hair on your side. | Owner Unilever | |
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Introduced 1954; 63 years ago (1954) Related brands Markets Worldwide (excluding Canada and the United States) | ||
Sunsilk is a hair care brand produced by the Unilever group. The brand was introduced in 1954 in the UK, available in most global countries, it is known as Sedal in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, Seda in Brazil and Elidor in Turkey.
Contents
International branding
Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world including Elidor, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in Philippines, India, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand.
History
Sunsilk was launched in the UK in 1954, and by 1959 it was available in 18 different countries worldwide. At the time, Sunsilk had an advantage over other shampoos in the market as it only needed one application, and so meant washing less natural oils from the hair. Sunsilk cream shampoo for dry hair was launched in 1956.
In 1958, a new transparent polythene tube for the liquid shampoo was introduced as an alternative large size pack to the bottle. Sunsilk was also available in such tubes.
In 1960, Sunsilk Tonic shampoo was launched, containing skin healing ingredient Allantoin – designed to help keep the scalp free from infection.
In 1961, Sunsilk Liquid shampoo was re-launched to Sunsilk Beauty, because ‘Liquid’ in the name, originally used to distinguish the product from powdered shampoos had become meaningless as the majority of shampoos were now in liquid form.
In 1962, Sunsilk was marketed as a range of shampoos for different hair types.
Sunsilk significantly improved product formula and launched new variants in 1966: the first major shampoo to contain olive oil, which acted as conditioner to make hair soft and manageable; shampoo for dull hair, which restored hair’s natural shine; lemon shampoo for greasy hair with deep cleansing ingredients.
Sunsilk hair spray was first launched in 1964 to enter an expanding hair-spray market, but in 1966 a new product formula was developed which gave hold, even in damp weather whilst still caring for hair. The hair spray contained a French perfume and could easily be removed by brushing or shampooing it out.
In 1969, all Sunsilk shampoo was re-packaged in new PVC bottles, which were larger than traditional glass bottles for the same price.
By the early 1970s, Sunsilk was manufactured in 27 countries, and was the closest thing to a global hair care brand.
Sunsilk conditioner was launched in 1971 with three variants for dry, normal and greasy hair. In 1973, Sunsilk launched an aerosol-dispensed setting lotion. An economy size shampoo bottle was introduced for Sunsilk in 1974.
In 1975, Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care with 1,000,000 packs being sold every week.
In 1980, the whole Sunsilk range was re-launched, with improved formulations and packaging design to bring the brand into the 1980s.
In 1985, Sunsilk styling mousse was launched and 2 years later a conditioning mousse followed.
In 1993, Sunsilk launched a new range of shampoos and conditioners, which were developed to meet women’s hair needs and reflect the way women think about their hair. The institute (a trademark by Seda/Sedal) "Elida Hair Institute" developed the products in response to market research. Each product contained a unique formulation of ingredients, combining the best from natural and scientific worlds to help combat common hair problems.By the same year, Sunsilk has been marketed as hair range using technologies made by the "Elida Hair Institute".
In 2001, Sunsilk has entered into the hair colourant market for Asian-type dark hair. Sunsilk Pro-Colur offers a range of seven permanent colours from natural black to copper with purple, red and gold tints. It was launched in India and Thailand.
Milestones
Media advertising
Sunsilk began its first television advertising in 1955 with a campaign that focused on specific hair "issues". In the UK, the campaign focused on shiny hair. During the 1960s, a television commercial of Sunsilk featured a tune composed by John Barry, “The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair”, which proved so popular that it was subsequently released as a pop single.
Sunsilk radio commercials were aired in 1969 featuring Derek Nimmo to support the new Sunsilk Herb shampoo for problem hair called “Hairy Tales”. In the early 1970s, Sunsilk was advertised with the slogan “All you need is Sunsilk”.
Celebrity associations
Madonna, Natalia Oreiro, Shakira, and Marilyn Monroe all featured in Sunsilk's 2008 advertising campaign “Life Can’t Wait” which launched with a Super Bowl XLII spot. The philosophy behind the campaign was about girls taking positive steps to gain better control of their lives “Hair On = Life On”.
Actress and Model Humaima Malick is the brand ambassador for Sunsilk in Pakistan.
Actress and former Model Yureni Noshika is the brand ambassador for Sunsilk in Sri Lanka
Actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra is the brand ambassador for Sunsilk in India.
In 2009, actress and singer Delta Goodrem was announced as the "face of Sunsilk" in Australia. The singer and her music have since featured in several Sunsilk adverts.
In 2007, British girlband Girls Aloud launched a campaign for Sunsilk after securing a sponsorship deal worth over £1,000,000. Members Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Cole, Kimberly Walsh and Sarah Harding all represented the brand, which included shooting a television commercial. Sunsilk also sponsored their following tour.
Magazine
In 2003, Sunsilk (Sedal) launched the first hair only glossy magazine in Argentina aiming to communicate to the professional hair industry. More than 800,000 copies are published each month. The magazine focuses on hair, fashion and beauty issues as well as showcasing hairdressers’ work. It is sold locally on news stands and distributed to hair salons.
Gang of Girls
In 2008, Sunsilk India launched a social networking site called Gang of Girls, which offered its users access to a variety of local and global experts to address various hair care needs through its content, blogs and live chat room. The site includes rich content of hair care and fashion, and users can also take part in interactive games and quizzes.In 2011, Sunsilk was listed in The Brand Trust Report published by Trust Research Advisory.
Co-Creation collaboration
From 2009 Sunsilk started working with a number of professional hair "experts" to develop new and improved products. Each hair “issue" variant links to an "expert” with the relevant specialist hair knowledge. For example, Dr Francesca Fusco, a New York dermatologist, co-created a “hairfall” variant for the brand. The line up also includes: Jamal Hammadi for Black Shine, Rita Hazan for Vibrant Colour, Teddy Charles for Plumped Up Volume, Thomas Taw for Damage Reconstruction, Ouidad for Defined Curls and Yuko Yamashita - inventor of Japanese hair straightening process 'YUKO' - for Perfect Straight.
Availability
Sunsilk is available in over 60 countries worldwide. However Sunsilk products seem to be no longer available in the UK, the United States and Canada. The Sunsilk website has a list of countries where their products are sold, in which the USA is not one of them.