The Toothpaste Battle Is One You Should Like

Just how important is consum-er advertising?

Just ask the folks over at Procter & Gamble. After watching Colgate-Palmolive eat their lunch for the better part of six months, it now appears that the top brass at P&G headquarters in Cincinnati have realized that they better start spending significant money to promote their Crest MultiCare products.

While P&G used to hold a steady lead over Colgate in market share in the key dentifrice category, the introduction of Colgate Total early this year and the entry of new technologies like whiteners and new tastes have turned the category topsy-turvy. The once-staid dentifrice category is now more fragmented than ever, and as the dust settles, Colgate is the momentum-builder and P&G, even with its venerable Crest brand, is treading water, looking for a way to win back consumers.

This is not brain surgery. Total's introduction was accompanied by a multimillion-dollar advertising budget that first made consumers aware of the product and then created an environment that stressed the quality of the merchandise as well as the fact that Total was completely different from any other toothpaste product available.

Even the sales forces of these two companies had different attitudes. Several retailers have related that they have had a hard time avoiding the upbeat and optimistic Colgate sales crew, whether in person, on the phone or at conventions. P&G's staff, meanwhile, was strangely silent, or at least as silent as employees of a multibillion-dollar conglomerate can be while watching the hard-earned market share of one of their leading products drastically shrink.

Still, this story can have a happy ending for P&G and the overall oral care category. First, it appears that Total's success has galvanized P&G into action, almost like supplying the mega-company with a target to aim for. The company has started to advertise MultiCare. Full-page ads have begun appearing in such newspapers as The New York Times and USA Today. Second, according to some retailers, there is some buzz on the street that P&G is beginning to actively support the brand through instore activity and retailer programs.

Now this may not be good news for Colgate-Palmolive officials, especially since they have controlled the spin factor for the last six or seven months and built up sales while their major competitor sat idly by. However, it is good news for the oral care category and for retailers because competition usually builds excitement in the aisles, and that usually translates into greater sales and profits for the merchant.

What we could end up with here is a good old-fashioned market share war. It will be expensive for the suppliers and probably turn into a bloody mess between two long-time competitors. Meanwhile, retailers should be loving every little bit of this action.