When I first moved out of my parents’ house in the ’80s, I started buying my very own dish soap, among many other things.

I didn’t use my mother’s choice because she used the cheapest she could find, usually a generic or an off-brand. Me? I wanted to use a real brand, the real deal (as I thought in those days).

My first choice was Palmolive because I believed the commercial. The commercial said it was gentle on the hands, and I needed this stuff that was ‘gentle on the hands’ as a dry skin sufferer. I cooked and washed dishes almost daily, so it seemed my hands were always in soapy water.

I remember the Palmolive commercial of a woman’s perfectly manicured hands and painted nails rising out of a sink full of bubbles, her hands looking like she had never washed a dish. This is how I wanted my hands to look, too, so heck, yes I was buying Palmolive.

Another reason is that I associated my grandmother Oma with Palmolive. The large bottle of green soap sat on her ceramic sink (or under it when she put it away), and having my own bottle on my sink was a good reminder of her since she had already passed on to Heaven.

It’s funny how a small thing like Palmolive can remind you of someone you love, sort of like smelling a familiar perfume in the air. Once, I thought I smelled the fragrance of my dad, though he was long gone, too. Even knowing he was dead, I still looked around as if I just might see him in the crowd.

A few years passed and I switched to Joy for a while. The reason was that I loved the scent of lemons, and when they came out with Lemon Joy, I had to try it, of course. The shapely yellow bottle was cute and the smell of lemons from the sink was a nice change.

The day I first bought Joy, I popped open the lid and gave the bottle a slight squeeze to smell it. So nice, I thought. Plus, it was a good name. I needed Joy in my life at the time, and seeing the name every time I reached for it made a sub-conscience appeal to my senses. But, in those days, it took a long squeeze on the bottle to make good bubbles and cut grease. This was before the days of Ultra Concentrate, which we have now.

So I toggled between Palmolive and Joy for a while, and occasionally, I tried an off-brand here and there, depending on how much money I could spend.

For the last few years, I’ve regularly stuck with Dawn. I didn’t use Dawn in those early years because it seemed more expensive and had no appeal to me. When I did try it, it seemed to dry my hands out more, too, something I didn’t need help with.

But Dawn’s marketing efforts in the last seven or eight years have worked on me.

I was hooked when Proctor & Gamble’s Dawn commercials started letting the public know how its soap helped with wildlife rescues. I care about keeping our environment clean and protecting wildlife, so this marketing strategy worked.

Dawn appealed to my emotions and touched my heart. Knowing it is a product that can save lives makes me feel good about using it. “Dawn has invested $4.5 million with our environmental advocacy partners since 2006, helping protect wildlife,” they write on their website.

I think when a company goes beyond itself to do good in the world for causes that really matter, it’s a win.

What set me on this path about liquid soaps was thinking about how ‘advertising and copy‘ sells…and it’s everywhere. If the ads and their copy appeal to a person’s emotions and can sell a product, it’s good…but only if they are truthful.

And if you are like me, you want the company to be honest about what the product or service does. I don’t want lies or manipulation.

Today, I still use Dawn.

And thinking back to the other day, when I walked into my mom’s little cottage, I noticed Dawn on her kitchen counter. I am unsure how long she’s been using it, but it seems like for a while now.

Last year, when she hurt her back, I cleaned her kitchen for a few days while she recovered. I remember using Dawn then to wash her dishes.

This blog was about soap, but it’s also a story to make a connection.

It’s to think about why we use the items we use, and how the producers of the products captured our attention to get us to buy what they sell.

What type of emotions did they reach? Was it their story that intrigued you? Was it a guarantee they promised?

When I hear the word ‘marketing,’ I cringe.

I associate it with stretched truths and empty promises—lies and manipulation—which we all hate. Too many people describe a product or way of doing something to make it sound out of this world when nothing special really exists.

If you watch some YouTubers and their manipulation tactics, you’ll hear that: they all have the best secret to getting rich! The one thing you’re missing! The one thing that made them millions of dollars! Do this one thing, and you’ll never be poor (or fat, sick, or tired) again!

With the rise of AI and how people can generate amazing information at their fingertips, it will take a lot of wisdom for consumers not to fall into the tar pits of misinformation that can also be generated.

Becoming savvy shoppers and understanding how researching services and products with a fine-tooth comb is essential. We need to look through the smoke and mirrors of what someone is selling you on their business services and products and not be fooled by hype and fancy words.

The good side to selling is simply being honest. Truthful.

Tell the right story, and if it resonates with people, great! If it doesn’t, so what.

Entrepreneurs and business owners, keep your story real. Tell the true WHY, the true HOW, and the true WAY.

Here’s cheers to being honest!

With Love,

Sharon