Ivory

Ivory is an American personal-care brand owned by Procter & Gamble and best known for its white bar soap. The brand became distinctive through two closely related product claims: its high level of purity and the ability of its traditional bar to float in water. Its historical advertising helped make Ivory one of the most recognizable soap brands in the United States, even though it is now a relatively small brand within Procter & Gamble's worldwide portfolio. The brand's roots reach back to the Ivorine soap made by the J. B. Williams Company in Glastonbury, Connecticut, during the nineteenth century. Williams later concentrated on shaving soap and sold Ivorine to Procter & Gamble. In 1879, James Norris Gamble, a chemist and the son of Procter & Gamble co-founder James Gamble, developed an inexpensive white soap for the company. Harley Procter, son of the other Procter & Gamble co-founder, selected the name Ivory. The name was inspired by a biblical reference to “ivory palaces,” rather than by the product's color alone. Procter & Gamble registered Ivory as a trademark in September 1879. Ivory's early market identity was built through memorable performance and purity messaging. The slogan “It Floats!” appeared by 1891, emphasizing the bar's unusual buoyancy. By 1895, the brand was also using the claim “99+44⁄100% Pure,” based on an analysis commissioned from an independent laboratory. Traditional Ivory bars were aerated during production, allowing them to float. A long-running story attributed this feature to an employee accidentally leaving the mixing equipment running too long. Later company archival research indicated that the floating design was a deliberate result of James Norris Gamble's soap-making work rather than an accident. Over time, Ivory expanded beyond the original white bar. The portfolio has included additional bar varieties, liquid soap, hair and body wash, dishwashing liquid, and Ivory Snow, a mild laundry detergent that is technically a detergent rather than a soap. Some liquid offerings were discontinued before 2016. The brand also experimented with formulas intended to be gentler for consumers who found traditional soap drying. A 1992 market test examined a skin-care bar that would not float, while a 2001 United States advertising test deliberately placed sinking bars among floating bars to determine whether consumers would notice the difference. Ivory's product identity changed further in the twenty-first century. The classic aerated bar was discontinued in 2023, and the replacement formula no longer floats. Packaging and formulations have also changed, with newer products using ingredients such as glycerin, fatty acids, and chelating agents in some varieties. As a result, the brand's historical floating claim describes its legacy product rather than the current bar. Ivory remains associated with simple, mild personal cleansing and traditional American soap heritage, while operating on a smaller scale than Procter & Gamble's largest global brands.

Ivory's history began with nineteenth-century soapmaking in Connecticut. In 1840, the J. B. Williams Company of Glastonbury produced a soap called Ivorine. The company later chose to focus on shaving soap and sold Ivorine to Procter & Gamble, which subsequently developed the Ivory brand. In 1879, James Norris Gamble, a trained chemist and the son of Procter & Gamble co-founder James Gamble, formulated an inexpensive white soap. Harley Procter, the son of co-founder William Procter, chose the name Ivory. The name was associated with the biblical phrase referring to “ivory palaces,” and Procter & Gamble registered Ivory as a trademark in September of that year. The product became one of Procter & Gamble's oldest continuously recognized brands. Ivory's early success depended on a combination of product performance and unusually memorable advertising. Traditional bars were whipped with air during manufacture, which made them less dense than water and enabled them to float. The slogan “It Floats!” was introduced in 1891. By 1895, Ivory advertising also promoted the claim “99+44⁄100% Pure,” based on testing by an independent laboratory hired by Harley Procter to compare the soap with castile soap available at the time. For many years, the floating property was explained through a popular accidental-discovery story. According to that account, a worker left the mixing machinery running too long, and Procter & Gamble decided to sell the resulting batch after customers praised it. Company archival research later challenged that version. In 2004, company archivist Ed Rider located documentation showing that James Norris Gamble had worked out how to make the soap float and had recorded the result in his own notes. The archival evidence therefore supports a deliberate technical development rather than a production mistake. The Ivory portfolio gradually broadened beyond its original bar. It included multiple white and lightly scented bar varieties, liquid soap, hair and body wash, dishwashing liquid, and Ivory Snow. Ivory Snow was marketed as a mild laundry product, although it is a detergent rather than a soap. A clear liquid soap offering had been discontinued before 2016. Product formulations also evolved as the company responded to consumer concerns about dryness and changing preferences in personal care. In October 1992, Procter & Gamble market-tested a skin-care bar designed to be less drying. The product did not retain the floating characteristic. In 2001, the company conducted a more elaborate United States advertising test involving 1,051 sinking bars mixed with ordinary floating bars over a six-month period. The promotion offered consumers the possibility of cash rewards of up to $250,000 if they detected the difference. D. L. Blair, a Draft Worldwide unit of Interpublic Group, administered the contest. Ivory's modern identity reflects both continuity and change. The traditional aerated bar was discontinued in 2023, and the current replacement no longer floats. Newer varieties, including Simply Ivory, use modified ingredient systems that may include glycerin, fatty acids, and tetrasodium EDTA. These changes preserve the brand's connection to straightforward cleansing while ending the physical feature that most strongly distinguished the historic product. Ivory remains a Procter & Gamble personal-care brand associated with American soap history, purity messaging, and uncomplicated bathing products.

1. 2023Traditional floating bar is discontinued

   Procter & Gamble ends production of the historic aerated Ivory bar; the replacement formula does not float.

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2. 2004Company archives clarify the origin of floating Ivory

   Archival research attributed the floating design to James Norris Gamble's documented soap-making work rather than to an accidental overmixing incident.

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3. 1895Purity claim enters Ivory advertising

   The brand uses the “99+44⁄100% Pure” claim, based on independent laboratory analysis commissioned by Harley Procter.

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4. 1891“It Floats!” becomes a brand slogan

   Ivory begins promoting the buoyancy of its aerated bar with the slogan “It Floats!”

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5. 1879Ivory is developed and trademarked

   James Norris Gamble develops an inexpensive white soap, Harley Procter selects the Ivory name, and Procter & Gamble registers the trademark in September.

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6. 1840Ivorine soap is produced by J. B. Williams

   The J. B. Williams Company in Glastonbury, Connecticut, manufactures soap under the Ivorine name, a product later connected to Ivory's development history.

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Traditional, affordable personal cleansing centered on white bar soap, a mild formulation heritage, and historically prominent purity and buoyancy claims.

• Ivory bar soapBar soap1879

  Ivory's defining product is a white bar soap historically made less dense than water through aeration. Traditional bars were lightly scented and promoted for their purity and ability to float. The classic floating version was discontinued in 2023, and the current modified formula no longer has that characteristic.

• Simply IvoryBar soap

  Simply Ivory is a later bar-soap variety using a modified formulation. Listed ingredients can include soap bases derived from tallow or palm materials, water, glycerin, fragrance, fatty acids, and tetrasodium EDTA. The formulation reflects the brand's movement toward updated cleansing and skin-feel characteristics rather than preservation of the original floating design.

• Ivory body wash and hair and body washBath and body care

  Ivory has extended its simple cleansing proposition into liquid bath products, including body wash and combined hair-and-body wash offerings. These products broaden the brand beyond the traditional bar while retaining its association with straightforward, family-oriented personal cleansing.

• Ivory dishwashing liquidDishwashing detergent

  Ivory dishwashing liquid is a cleaning product positioned under the broader Ivory name. Its listed formulation uses synthetic detergent ingredients and other cleaning agents, so it is more accurately described as a detergent product than as traditional soap.

• Ivory SnowLaundry detergent

  Ivory Snow is a mild laundry detergent associated with the Ivory brand. Despite the historical relationship between Ivory and soap, Ivory Snow is technically a detergent rather than a bar or liquid soap product.

• 2001Sinking-Bar Consumer Test

  United States

  Ivory conducted a six-month promotion in which 1,051 non-floating bars were mixed with ordinary bars. Consumers could receive cash rewards of up to $250,000 for identifying the unusual bars.

  Outcome. The campaign tested whether the floating property remained noticeable and meaningful to consumers.

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• 189599+44⁄100% Pure

  United States

  Ivory used a highly specific purity claim supported by an independent laboratory analysis commissioned by Harley Procter.

  Outcome. The claim established purity as a long-term pillar of Ivory's advertising identity.

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• 1891It Floats!

  United States

  Ivory promoted the unusual buoyancy of its aerated bar through the “It Floats!” slogan, turning a manufacturing characteristic into a central brand promise.

  Outcome. The slogan became one of the brand's most enduring identifiers.

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• 2023Discontinuation of the floating barGeneration change

  Ivory's historic aerated bar had long been associated with the brand's floating claim, while product formulas continued to evolve.

  What changed. Procter & Gamble discontinued the traditional floating version and replaced it with a modified bar that no longer floats.

  Aftermath. The change ended the physical product feature most closely associated with Ivory's classic advertising legacy.

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• 2001Consumer test using sinking barsOther

  The company sought to measure whether shoppers would notice a bar that lacked Ivory's traditional floating behavior.

  What changed. Procter & Gamble distributed a limited number of sinking bars among floating bars and offered substantial cash rewards through a managed advertising promotion.

  Aftermath. The initiative became a notable example of Ivory using its historic product property as an experimental marketing device.

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• 1992Market test of a non-floating skin-care barGeneration change

  Some consumers had complained that traditional Ivory soap could leave skin feeling dry.

  What changed. Procter & Gamble tested a revised skin-care bar intended to address dryness, even though it would not float.

  Aftermath. The test demonstrated the tension between improving skin feel and preserving the product feature that defined Ivory's heritage.

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• 2023Procter & Gamble discontinues the traditional floating Ivory bar formula

  The aerated version of Ivory bar soap that historically floated in water was discontinued. The replacement bar uses a modified formula and no longer floats.

  Product generationProduct launch
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• 2001Ivory runs a sinking-bar consumer advertising test

  In the United States, a six-month promotional test placed a limited number of sinking Ivory bars among floating bars and offered cash rewards to see whether consumers noticed the difference.

  CampaignOther
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• 1992Ivory tests a skin-care bar that does not float

  Procter & Gamble market-tested a new Ivory formula intended to address complaints that traditional soap could leave skin feeling dry. The test version did not float.

  Product generationOther
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1. Ivory (soap)