Strong Medicine (22 page)

time ago. Well, she reasoned, for better or worse she had accepted Sam

Hawthorne's advice and suspended critical judgments. How long would she

have to go on doing it? If Teddy Upshaw was right in his prediction about

her moving on from O-T-C, it would be merely for a year. Celia observed

that Sam was smiling and wondered at what.

Her thoughts returned to her responsibilities. Observing the two young

men, Howard Bladen and Bill Ingram, Celia had an instinct about whom she

would be working with closely in the future, both at Bray & Commonwealth

and Quadrille-Brown Advertising.

Even in her most sanguine moments Celia had not expected her

merchandising program for New Healthotherm-the "happymomma" plan, as it

became known to company insiders-to produce the astounding results it

did. As Teddy Upshaw declared cheerfully during a private session in her

office, "Celia, baby, it's

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dynamite!" He added, "I knew all along you were good, but you turned out

to be a friggin' genius."

Within a month of launching a TV, radio and print campaign orchestrated

by Quadrille-Brown Advertising, sales of Healthotherm had multiplied by

six. Moreover, in the fourth week a fresh flood of wholesale orders made

clear this was merely a beginning. Sure enough, within another month the

previous high had doubled, with still further gains predicted.

The success of Celia and New Healthotherm were duly noted at Felding-Roth

corporate headquarters. Consequently, through the remainder of 1964 when

plans were developed to revitalize other Bray & Commonwealth products,

approval of the expense was automatic. As Sam Hawthorne explained, "We

still want to know what's going on, Celia--after all, we might learn

something over here--but while you continue producing, you'll be given

freedom to operate your way."

Celia's way consisted of creating new images for elderly, existing

products.

One of them had been known simply as B&C Shampoo. At Celia's suggestion

the old name was retained, but in minuscule type with a large new added

name-EMBRACE. Immediately below and almost as prominent was the slogan:

As Gentle As Your Dream Lover.

Not only was the slogan remembered by those who saw EMBRACE advertised,

and those who bought it, but-to the delight of all concerned with

sales-it was bandied around to become a national catchphrase. TV comics

milked the line for laughs. Parodies appeared in newspapers-among them

an editorial page feature in The Wall Street Journal, criticizing a White

House tax plan and headed:

No Gentle Embrace From Your Dream President

This, and more, brought EMBRACE shampoo unprecedented attention and sales

exploded.

Again, the Quadrille-Brown agency developed the advertising program for

EMBRACE, but this time under the direction of Howard Bladen, promoted

from assistant to full account executive. Young Bladen had also played

a role in New Healthotherm, eventually eclipsing the earnest, worried

Dexter Wilson who simply disappeared from view, so Celia never did learn

whether he had left the agency or was pastured to a lesser account.

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Similarly, at the Bray & Commonwealth end of the equation, the youthful

Bill Ingram had been moved up by Celia to become marketing director,

replacing the veteran Grant Carvill. For Carvill another slot was found

where he was now-as someone said unkindly-"counting paper ciips until

early retirement."

Ingram, taking his cue from Celia, came up with innovative marketing

ideas. It was Ingram, also, who brought to her the news that a small

pharmaceutical firm in Michigan was available for purchase. "They have

several products, Mrs. Jordan, but the only interesting one is System 5,

a liquid cold medicine, a decongestant. As you know, that's a gap in our

own line, something we don't have. If we could buy the Michigan company,

dump their other products and take over System 5, we could build it into

something big."

Remembering Andrew's views about all cold medicines, she asked, "Is

System 5 any good?"

"I had our chemists check it out. They say it's okay. Nothing

world-shaking, and no better than we could produce ourselves, starting

from scratch if we needed to." Ingram ran a hand through his perpetually

untidy red hair. "But System 5 does what it's supposed to and it's

already on the market with a reasonable sales base, so we wouldn't start

from zero."

"Yes, that's important."

Celia was aware that economics were on the side of adapting an O-T-C

product which had some acceptance already, rather than introducing

something entirely new. Not only was any new item incredibly costly to

launch, but most new products failed, often taking their supporters down

to obscurity with them.

"Give me a written report with all the details, Bill," she instructed.

"I'll look them over. If I think it's a good idea, I'll talk to Sam. "

A few days later Celia did think it a good idea and made a recommendation

to buy the Michigan company-and thereby the cold medication System 5. As

a result the small company was quietly acquired through an intermediary

law firm, the vendors unaware of whom the lawyers represented. Such

methods were standard, since announcing that a major drug house was

interested would have pushed the purchase price sky high.

Soon after, the other products of the acquired company were sold ofr and

the Michigan plant closed. Manufacture of System 5, and a few of the

people working with it, were transferred to Bray & Commonwealth's New

Jersey plant.

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Bill Ingram was charged with improving and expanding sales of System 5.

He began by ordering a striking, modem package design in orange and gold,

an attractive matching plastic container to replace the green glass bottle

in which the medicine had been sold previously, and renaming it System 500.

"Those extra numbers," he argued, when reporting to Celia, "will imply

we've strengthened the product at the same time we redesigned it. Matter of

fact, our chemists are making a change or two in formulation so

manufacturing will be more efficient."

Celia studied the material presented, then said, "I suggest an extra line

of copy immediately beneath the name." She scribbled on a sheet of paper:

System 500

The SYSTEMATIC Cold Fighter

and passed it to Ingram.

He regarded her admiringly. "Brilliant! It'll make people feel they can be

organized in getting rid of their colds. They'll love it!"

Celia thought, Forgive me, Andrew! She reminded herself once more, All this

is only for a year-then remembered how quickly time had gone by and that it

was already a year and a half since her transfer to Bray & Commonwealth.

I've become so engrossed, she reflected, sometimes I forget about moving

back to the prescription drug side. Besides, what's happening here is Jun.

Bill Ingram was continuing, enthusiastically as usual. "In another six

months, when the new packaging has taken hold, we can launch the tablets."

"What tablets?"

He looked pained. "You haven't read my memo?"

Celia pointed to a stack of papers on her desk. "It's probably in there. So

tell me."

"Okay. Tablets are just another way of selling System 500. Ingredients will

be the same, the effect the same. But we'd advertise separately and get

double exposure. Of course, we will dilute the ingredients for the

children's version. That one will be called System 50, the smaller figure

showing . . ."

"Yes," Celia said. "Yes, I get the idea-smaller figure, smaller people."

She laughed.

"Next winter," Ingram went on, undeterred, "when whole families are down

with colds, my memo suggests we introduce a large,

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family-size System 500 bottle. If that catches on, we'd follow with an even

larger one-in the trade they call it an 'Oh-my-Goff size."

"Bill," Celia said, still laughing. "You're getting to be too much! But I

like it. How about System 500 in aspic?"

"For the carriage trade?" Now he was laughing with her. "I'll work on it."

And while Celia and O-T-C were meshed fructiferously, events elsewhere

moved on as always-with tragedy, comedy, conflict, nobility, sadness,

laughter and human folly-bounding or shuffling onstage, sometimes as

entities, occasionally all together.

The British and French announced confidently, as they had on and off for a

hundred and fifty years, that work would shortly begin on a Channel tunnel.

Jack Ruby, killer of President Kennedy's assassin, Oswald, was found guilty

and sentenced to death. President Johnson succeeded, where Kennedy had

failed, in having a strong civil rights bill passed by Congress. Four

saucy, charming Liverpudlians with the unlikely title of the Beatles were

causing their music and a cult dubbed "Beatlemania" to sweep the world.

In Canada, during a nationwide wrangle combining anger and silliness, the

country adopted a new national flag. Winston Churchill, who had appeared

likely to survive forever, died at ninety. And in the United States

something called the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, relating to a faraway

country, Vietnam, was eased through Congress with little attention paid,

and less awareness that its consequences would alienate a generation and

tear America asunder.

"I want to watch the TV news tonight," Andrew told Celia on an evening in

August 1965. "There's been rioting and burning in a place called Watts.

It's part of Los Angeles."

They were at home for a family evening, which both of them cherished,

though recently such occasions were fewer since Celia's work now required

her to travel, and sometimes she was away for days at a time. Because of

this, and to compensate, the children joined their parents for the evening

meal whenever possible.

Celia liked the children, also, to see their grandmother, thoughto general

regret-the visits from Mildred were less frequent nowadays, due to her

failing health. Asthma had long been a problem for Celia's mother, and

lately it had worsened. Andrew suggested that Mildred come to live with

them, where he could take care of her, but she declined, preferring her

independence and the modest Philadelphia home where she had lived since

Celia was small.

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_ But Andrew's response was reflexive, automatic. The mental depression

produced by the televised scenes from Watts had stayed with him. So had

a crucial personal problem, not related to Celia or his family-a problem

that had already caused him anguish and would not, could not go away.

"The dilemnia is," Sam Hawthorne told Celia next day, "you've been too

successful--or, rather, far more successful than anyone expected. You are

a goose producing golden eggs, which is why you've been left alone at

Bray & Commonwealth."

They were in Sam's office at Felding-Roth headquarters-a meeting arranged

at Celia's request and at which she had just asked for a transfer from

her O-T-C duties.

"I have something here which may interest you," Sam said. Reaching across