History of advertising in Britain day and into the 20th century. An advertising tactic that he used was to associate the Pears brand with high culture and quality. Most famously, he used the painting "Bubbles" by John Everett Millais as an advertisement by adding a bar of Pears soap into the foreground. (Millais protested at this alteration of his work, but in vain as Barratt had bought the copyright.) Barratt continued this theme with a series of adverts of well groomed middle-class children, associating Pears with domestic comfort and aspirations of modern cleanliness. Barratt established "Pears Annual" in 1891 as a spin-off magazine which promoted
Pears (soap) In the late 19th century, Pears used coins countermarked with "Pears Soap" as a way of advertising its soap. The coins used were French, imported by Pears. About the same size and shape as the British pennies at the time, these French coins were generally accepted as pennies in Britain. Lillie Langtry's famous ivory complexion brought her income as the first woman to endorse a commercial product, advertising Pears soap. Her fee was allied to her weight so she was paid 'pound for pound'. Between 1891 and 1925 Pears issued their now-famous annuals, now highly collectible. From the early 20th