Heavier Shave Cream
Equals Close,
Smooth Shaves
 

“It’s a smooth-smooth-slick-slick shave you get
with M-O-L-L-E!”  
                                                                   
                                                        --- Dan Seymour

 Soundbyte

Lincoln, Me. (DG)—

Shaving was a daily routine men (who didn’t wear beards) had to perform.  While it was uneventful for some men, others looked forward to the daily whisker removal session as much as they looked forward to playing with a nest filled with short-tempered hornets (as stated in the enclosed ad).  The reason for this ghastly attitude was because their shaves irritated the face so much, the men looked like they were blushing when they really weren’t.  The problem here was something rugged he-men didn’t want to admit they really had--- the combination of a wiry beard and tender skin.  Since the face was sensitive, a quality shave cream had to be used to provide a close shave without the added bonus of irritation.   

During the height of radio’s golden age, there was no such thing as shave gel or even shave cream in aerosol cans.  The modern shave creams of the era was known as either lather or brushless.  Many well-known and not-so-well-known brands made either brushless, lather, or both.  With the many brands on the market, the object was to find the right shave cream for both tough whiskers and tender skin.  For those men with this problem, they could use any shave cream brand they wanted to--- as long as the tube or jar said Mollé (pronounced “Mo-Lay”).   

The Sterling Drug product was known as “The Heavier Brushless Shaving Cream.”  The radio listeners heard announcer Dan Seymour cheerfully talk about it on NBC’s MOLLÉ MYSTERY THEATER. Soundbyte 

On the commercials, Seymour used the word “Heavier” in describing Mollé.  He didn’t mean the men would have difficulty lifting the Mollé container or risk injury putting the shave cream on their faces.  The heavier in Mollé’s vocabulary meant a thicker type of shave cream than the competition.     

When it was applied to the tender skin of the man’s face, Mollé’s heavier content immediately went to work in softening every whisker it met.  In the process, the softened up whiskers stood up straight on the face--- just aching for the razor (with a blade in the razor) to shave them off.  Even with hostile blades, Mollé shaved off the whiskers cleanly, yet left the tender skin on the face feeling as cool and smooth as a baby’s backside.  The best new of all--- Mollé wasn’t a fussy product.  With equal consistency, it softened and stood up light beards; tough, wiry beards; and any beard in between.   

Satisfied Mollé users found out not only were their faces smooth, clean, and free of irritation, but their disposition was also on the good side.  Instead of hearing profane language and seeing a beet red face, the family saw their breadwinner in a very good mood--- even before he had his first cup of coffee.  A daily Mollé shave got the men off to a good start in the day’s activities.  What happened after that wasn’t the shave cream’s responsibility.         

In a nutshell, that was what made Mollé tick--- but since this article is about radio commercials, there had to be a clever gimmick to catch the listeners’ attention about Mollé on the air--- and there was--- isn’t that surprising!   

With the help of Alexander Semmler’s Orchestra, the radio listeners will remember Seymour closing out the Mollé commercials with the famous “Smooth-Smooth-Slick-Slick” jingle.  If the listeners weren’t aware that Mollé provided smooth and slick shaves, they were definitely aware of it after the commercial ended.   

Mollé may not necessarily make shaving an event the men looked forward to each morning with thrilling excitement, but it did eliminate the fear and dread for those men who had their problems with whisker removal.  Satisfied Mollé shavers found out heavier was better.  Even if the day was a total disaster, at least the morning shave with Mollé turned out right.