« WireTAP | Main | High-Speed Rail » Tide25 Jan 2008 12:13 pm
Tyler Cowen marvels at the popularity of Tide and wonders "Is Tide so good? Does Tide really 'know fabric best'?" My eighth grade science project actually involved comparing different brands of laundry detergent and while I don't recall the details, the conclusion was that Tide was, in fact, superior to the then-available alternatives. Things may have changed since then, however. Comments (38)
I think it's more likely that it just has the best brand, because it is the biggest seller, therefore generates more cash to reinvest in marketing. That's sort of the way all consumer products work. Does Nike really make you run faster? 
Maybe Tide is best for fabric, but it makes lots of folks break out in a rash.
With three young children and a fashionista wife, I spend an insane amount of time doing laundy, and I'm here to proclaim: Tide Now, Tide For-evah!
What is Tide?
Tide performs only somewhat better for conventional washers than products costing half as much, according to Consumer Reports, including the half-Tide-price WalMart brand Great Value. For high efficiency washers, Tide is ranked third, although again, CostCo's brand, Kirkland, performs only a bit worse for half as much.
Slow news day, MY?
I use some eco-hippie lavender-scented stuff that smells like heaven, from Trader Joe's. Recommended.
Man, I hate all the status-conscious Tide fans. And I hate those annoying Tide commercials: 'I'm Tide', 'I'm ERA'. I hate that lame pseudo-hipster who plays 'Tide'. Smug bastards.
I really can't answer whether Tide is a better cleaner than other laundry detergents because I have almost never used any others. Add my usuage to my mother's and the original Tide Powder has been cleaning my clothes for over half a century. I do have one small complaint though in case a Procter & Gamble executive happens to read your blog. It is getting harder to find Tide Powder - Original Scent. It seems like P&G wants to switch to just liquid detergent because that is about all the stores around here are stocking. I don't like being forced to change -- especially if there is uncertainty as to whether the change will make me itch.
I can confirm what Dalton said, at least for me -- it gives me a rash. Since no other detergent I use (I normally just buy the brand "Whatever's Cheapest") causes this, I assume they're doing something different.
I know this is going to sound weird, but Tide is something of an aphrodisiac. Seriously. I have gotten laid because I smell so good! (And I don't use cologne or pheremones or anything)
I use whatever I can get without perfumes and dyes. Lately it's been Tide, but historically it's been Arm & Hammer or healthfood-store stuff. That's probably the source of whatever rash you're getting.
Has product placement advertising finally gotten to blogs? Are we going to see a fine selection of Coca-Cola products being consumed at the next "Table"?
Procter & Gamble's strategy is to invest heavily in R&D to continually improve its brand name products and invest heavily in advertising to let people know about its brands and their improvements. It's a strategy that has worked for at least a half century. In the marketing business, P&G is considered the gold standard, and other firms heavily headhunt P&G managers.
My laundry choice is Arm & Hammer Perfume & Dye Free. It's not expensive and if you have any friends who sensitive to fragrances and dyes, it's a mitzvah.
And I thought Sailer would say it's because Tide is tbe best at getting your clothes pure & white.
My old girlfriend used Tide and got me hooked on it. Heh -- maybe it was the smell that got me attracted to her in the first place. In any case there's got to be something in it that makes it smell (and maybe clean) better than any other alternative out there, and I'm hooked.
I would have definitely failed you for that science project. It wasn't a marketing project. What, you weren't given a little chemistry set when you were a boy? a geology set? a bird or a butterfly book? All you could come up with was comparing detergent? A strong sign, definitely, of too much tv watching. In the fourth grade, such a comparison might have been acceptable, but by the eighth grade, you really should have been more advanced.
One good thing about capitalism -- soap.
We switch every so often to try some cheap brand, even made our own for a while (Fels Naptha, Borax and washing soda). We always come back to Tide because it works so dang well. We are going to try Tide Free though because one of our daughters (she's 4) has a rash on her elbows and back of her knees. Has anyone with rash problems tried Tide Free?
So this is what they do in those fancy New York City private schools. :)
I'm allergic to Tide. If I wear anything washed with it it makes me itch all over the place. Hypoallergenic All does it for me.
For me, it was my seventh grade science project and it had exactly the same results.
What Lizzy said. Arm & Hammer is the best. I like the version with bleach.
My college econ professor told of visiting a laundry detergent factory for Cheer (or some such). He asked the plant manager what made Cheer better than Tide? And the manager said (paraphrasing), "It's not. Tide's better. They have a patent. But we're cheaper."
I remember studying this question in a some class. The supremacy of Tide is as much a result of marketing as the product. Most laundry detergents are essentially the same. This is why manufacturers spend bazillions of dollars on advertising. To a great degree, soap is soap. Either compete on price or through marketing. Of course, that class was a long time ago. And I was probably high.
Down here where folks are blessed with an appreciation for grits and NASCAR, when we hear 'Tide' we think of a bunch of ruffians who work out of Tuskaloosa. Since I'm a Tennessee grad, count me as allergic.
I used to work at at textile chemical plant. They produced chemicals that allowed easier textile manufacturing and other chemicals that would have improved wicking, softening, elasticity, hydrophobicity, whatever. We would run sample washes to see if household washing and drying would alter the chemical properties of our product chemicals. It was pretty interesting to see how Tide really did remove the oil or contaminant without damaging the textile itself better than any competitors according to all the high tech machinery we used to measure softness, absorption, chemical composition etc. It was a little weird seeing a bunch of PhDs running an elementary school science project with much bigger budgets. It was nice getting paid for it though.
Jeese, all this positive Tide-talk has actually convinced me to give it a try... But if I find out later that this excercise was anything other than innocent consumer-reports blogging, I'm going to be very upset.
I thought all the DFHs used Tide Coldwater. Y'know, "reduce the carbon by not heating the wash-water"...
Just the other day Seth Godin was talking about how Tide is actually getting out of TV advertising entirely. They're more or less declaring victory in the brand war and will focus their energy on smaller marketing techniques and mainly on the shelf space itself (they way their products look).
There is no other real detergent, they are all pale imitations. But that's just practical considerations. Let's move on to fetishes. Me, the spouse, and, it turns out, the painter Brice Marden, have a special affection for Bounty Paper Towels. Modern life would not exist for us without them. (Pure white is preferred; the new "Select a Size" variety is heresy.) Who else will testify to the same and the pitiful uselessness of Brawny much less the generics? P.S. Pre-emptive: I religiously recycle all other forms of paper. Ain't no way I am going back to using my Polish grannie's rags--you use more energy & water washing the friggin things all the time and all you reall end up doing if you can't dispose of your cleaning tool in the trash is pushing most of dirt from one place to the other in the house. If Al Gore proved to me that paper towels would cause the death of the earth in a year, I still wouldn't give them up.
Was that with Mr. Diveki? Haha. I'm a GCS alum too...
Emma @ #1:03pm, we're experiencing the same problem out here in Hawai'i. The local Safeway has virtually stopped selling the powder. It's annoying. We've been using Tide for at least 40 years.
I guess I just don't understand what it even means for a detergent to be better or worse. I don't frequently put hideous stains in my clothing-just the normal sweat and dirt-and I have never had any problems with any detergent I've ever used.
Poor gerontion! You are probably satisfied with your car, wine, and your spouse as well. Join the consumer culture and find out how a better detergent removes stains without damaging the clothing over the lifetime of the item. How ppm concentrations of tannins and other esoteric fermentation steps decide if you should think a wine is good or simply vulgar. Most importantly, you will learn how knowing and purchasing these superior products is a form of self-improvement and the better things you buy, the better person you become.
Well, perhaps you can give me tips about the essential facts I need to know before I get into the market for a spouse. As it happens, my 1995 nissan sx se, which cost me 1000 dollars, is quite functional, and so is whatever booze that crosses my lips. So that leaves marriage as my only hope for the consumerist salvation you describe.
Comments closed February 08, 2008. |
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Heads in the Sand
I seem to recall Consumer Reports reaching the same conclusion. Quite peculiar if you think about it, since you would expect detergent to be a commodity without much of a quality difference between brands.
Posted by bbartlog | January 25, 2008 12:30 PM