In a recent Business Week article, “Detergent Can Be So Much More,” the author points out that Consumer Packaged Goods giant Procter & Gamble has taken an entirely new tack...

...in its marketing of its category leading laundry detergent: Tide.

Saatchi & Saatchi has reoriented P&G’s advertising for Tide to appeal to the consumer’s emotional needs. While no one could argue with the dominance of Tide’s 42% market share among laundry detergents, the article states that Tide “...was in jeopardy of slipping into mere commodity status. That’s when consumers buy on price and habit, which can spell the end of brand growth.”

Hmmm... hard to imagine Tide and the end of brand growth in one sentence. This tried and true product continues to sell and sell, generation after generation.

Of course, this begs the question: why shouldn’t P&G push to retain, and possibly grow, its 42% market share?

In response to the company’s concerns, and new marketing strategies it is in the process of pioneering, P&G decided to replace conventional Tide advertising. Ads that used to demonstrate how well Tide removes stains have been replaced by trail-blazing ads that focus on women’s busy lives. By telling women that they can trust Tide to take care of their families’ clothing: “Tide knows fabric best," it’s obvious that they can focus on living their lives rather than living in their laundry rooms.

Forging emotional connections with customers is the primary focus at P&G now, for all of the corporate giant’s brands. The company’s executives think the “new softer side of P&G” will be more potent if it appeals to the consumer on a subtler, more emotional level. Of course plenty of seasoned marketers, myself included, believe that marketing initiatives should seek to create emotional, as well as intellectual connections with consumers.

And after all: how much more can be said about stain removal and whitening power, that hasn’t already been said?