Wikipedia

Hynos

Hynos is a Vietnamese toothpaste brand. The brand was originally sold in South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong,[1] and still exists today.[2] Hynos was known for its innovative advertising techniques, which included the use of billboards, film, and jingles.[3][4]

A Hynos billboard in Saigon, 1967

The brand is known for being featured in several billboards, the most prominent of which show an African man grinning widely with shiny white teeth (similar to the Darlie Toothpaste logo). A scene involving one of its factories in the 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket, where fighting between US Marines and the Viet Cong breaks out in the South Vietnamese city of Huế.

History edit

Hynos was founded in the 1960s by a Jewish-American businessman in South Vietnam.[3] He was married to a Vietnamese woman, but her premature death caused him to lose interest in the business. The company was sold to a Vietnamese man named Vuong Dao Nghia at a very low price.[4] Vuong decided to focus on making the brand competitive with both domestic and imported toothpaste brands through advertising, choosing the image of a black man with white teeth to represent the Hynos brand.[4] Billboards featuring the man soon became a common sight on the streets of Saigon.[5][6] The company was also one of the first in Vietnam to advertise through film, hiring Hong Kong actor Jimmy Wang Yu to create a commercial that was screened in theatres. It was reported that Hynos spent 50% of its profits on advertising. Within ten years, the company had a monopoly in the domestic market and was also influential in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.[4] After the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, the company merged with Kolperlon, another local toothpaste company, to became Orchid Toothpaste Factory.[7] Orchid became Vietnam's first state-owned enterprise on May 30, 1975.[4][8] At the time, the company produced 80 000 tubes of toothpaste per day, using locally sourced calcium carbonate.[8] The company soon discovered 2 million tubes of imported P/S toothpaste in its warehouses, and thus decided to rebrand itself as P/S. By the mid 1990s, P/S had a 60% market share of the toothpaste industry in Vietnam, but began to drop off following economic reforms that allowed foreign investors and goods into Vietnam. In 1997, P/S entered a joint venture with Unilever, with the latter becoming responsible for manufacturing toothpaste.[7]

The Hynos brand was reintroduced in 2007, but failed to achieve its former popularity.[4][9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ Clarity, James F. (1974-03-26). "Reporter's Notebook: Indochina War Appears Only Subway Stops Away". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  2. ^ "VN cần học lại chiến lược phát triển của VNCH?". BBC News Tiếng Việt (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  3. ^ a b "Đại gia SG biến sản phẩm vô danh thành thứ không ai có thể chối từ". VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). VietNamNet. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Thương hiệu vang bóng một thời: Kem đánh răng 'Anh Bảy Chà' Hynos". VietNam Finance (in Vietnamese). 2020-12-20. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  5. ^ "Mary McCarthy in Vietnam". The Observer. 1967-04-30. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  6. ^ Marr, David G. (1998). Mass Media in Vietnam. Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-909524-32-6. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  7. ^ a b NLD.COM.VN (2011-08-24). "Thắp lại hào quang thương hiệu Việt: Từ P/S đến Hynos". Người Lao Động (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  8. ^ a b "SAIGON TOOTHPASTE FACTORY BECOMES FIRST STATE - OPERATED ENTERPRISE". Translations on South and East Asia. 560. Joint Publications Research Service: 33. 1975-08-12 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Vietnamese big bosses struggle to revive their one-time strong brands - News VietNamNet". english.vietnamnet.vn. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  10. ^ "Foreigners sell toothpaste at below production costs? - News VietNamNet". english.vietnamnet.vn. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.


 

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