Pampers

Pampers is a brand of disposable diaper (or nappy) marketed by Procter & Gamble worldwide.

File:Pampers1.jpg

Current Logo on All Packages.

Product information

Diapers

Pampers Diapers come in sizes going all the way up to Size 7. The diapers are divided into stages and sold under three distinct groupings:

Swaddlers

• Preemie 0-4 lb - These diapers are latex free and are custom fit to offer blanket like comfort for smaller preemies.
• Preemie 3-6 lb - These diapers have the custom grow-with me fit for premature babies.
• Newborn up to 10 lb (up to 4.5 kg) - These are for small newborn infants. May be too small for some infants.
• 1 8-14 lb (4-6 kg)For larger newborns and infants up to about 3 months old.
• 2 12-18 lb (5-8 kg)For infants from about 2 months to 6 months.

Cruisers (known in Europe as Active Fit)

• 3 16-28 lb (7-13 kg)For the transition of infancy to toddlerhood - for babies from about 5 months to 2 years.
• 4 22-37 lb (10-17 kg)for toddlers from about 1 year to just about 3 years of age.
• 5 27+ lb (12+ kg) for toddlers to preschoolers from about 2 and a half years to 4 years old. Ideal for preschoolers who still wet heavily at night. About the size of size 4 underwear.
• 6 35+ lb (16+ kg)for larger toddlers as well as preschoolers and elementary school kids. For children from 3 to 6. For children who toilet train later than usual as well as those who may be trained during the day but need nighttime protection for bedwetting and wet too heavily for Pull Ups products. About the size of Size 6 underwear.
• 7 41+ lb for large toddlers and children from about 4 and a half to 7 years of age. For children who toilet train later than usual as well as those who may be trained during the day but need nighttime protection for bedwetting and wet too heavily for Pull Ups products. They are the about the size of size 8 underwear.

Pampers Premium diapers were phased out around the same time that Pampers Cruisers were introduced.

Baby Dry (the basic brand)

• 1 8-14 lb (4-6 kg)For larger newborns and infants up to about 3 months old.
• 2 12-18 lb (5-8 kg)For infants from about 2 months to 6 months.
• 3 16-28 lb (7-13 kg) For the transition of infancy to toddlerhood - for babies from about 5 months to 2 years.
• 4 22-37 lb (10-17 kg)for toddlers from about 1 year to just about 3 years of age.
• 5 27+ lb (12+ kg)for toddlers to preschoolers from about 2 and a half years to 4 years old. Ideal for preschoolers who still wet heavily at night. About the size of size 4 underwear.
• 6 35+ lb (16+ kg)for larger toddlers as well as preschoolers and elementary school kids. For children from 3 and a half to 6. For children who toilet train later than usual as well as those who may be trained during the day but need nighttime protection for bedwetting and wet too heavily for Pull Ups products. About the size of Size 6 underwear.

Sensitive (Europe)

• 2 (Mini) 6-13 lb (3-6 kg)
• 3 (Midi) 9-20 lb (4-9 kg)
• 4 (Maxi) 15-40 lb (7-18 kg)
• 5 (Junior) 24-55 lb (11-25 kg)

Some people use the term "Pampers" to refer to all diapers in general.

Training pants

Pampers also makes a line of disposable training pants. They are broken down into sizes much like the diapers are.

Easy Ups

• 4 16-34 lb (7-15 kg)
• 5 30-40 lb (14-18 kg)
• 6 37+ lb (17+kg)

Feel n' Learn (for Boys and Girls)

• 3T-4T 26-40 lb (12-18 kg)
• 4T-5T 34-50 lb (16-23 kg)

Sunnies Swim Pants (Europe)

• Medium 20-33 lb (9-15 kg)
• Large 30+ lb (14+ kg)

Splashers Swim Pants

• 3 16-34 lb (7-15 kg)
• 4 16-34 lb (7-15 kg)
• 5 30-40 lb (14-18 kg)
• 6 37+ lb (17+kg)

Other products

• Wipes

Procter & Gamble currently makes Pampers wipes that come in tubs. Procter & Gamble markets these tubs as being refillable with the refill wipe packages. There are currently Baby-Fresh wipes, Natural (unscented) wipes, Spring Blossom wipes, Lavender wipes, Sensitive wipes, Swipers wipes, and Clean n 'Go wipes.

• Kandoo
• Bibsters
• Clean'n Play
• Change Mats (Europe)
• Bed Mats (Europe)
• All-Night (Philippines)
• Comfort (the secondary brand in some markets in Asia and Latin America, behind Pampers Baby-Dry)

History

1960s

In 1961 Pampers were introduced. They were the creation of a man named Vic Mills who just happened to work for Procter & Gamble, and was looking for an easier way to diaper his grandchildren. He thought it was a mess to use cloth diapers and it occurred to him that the pulp mill owned by Procter and Gamble might produce a clean, absorbent paper that just might work for a disposable diaper. From that idea, Pampers were born. Mills assigned a group to research the possibility of designing a diaper that was absorbent, disposable and prevented leaks. He used the very first disposable diapers developed out of this project on his granddaughter. P&G tested this as-yet unnamed disposable diaper in Rochester, New York in 1959 and, after discarding early names such as Tads, Solos and Larks, came up with the Pampers brand. Pampers entered into a test market in Peoria, Illinois. Although the first test was unsuccessful, it led to an improved Pampers product at a lower cost that eventually replaced cloth diapers as the preferred way to diaper babies. These early diapers were bulky, heavy products composed of fluff pulp with a rayon topsheet, polyethylene backsheet. But these diapers were a hit with consumers. When they were introduced, supermarkets and drugstores did not know how to stock these new diapers. For a while they were found everywhere from the convenience section, the food aisle, the paper product section, and even in the drug section. In 1966, Pampers launched a new C-fold design and by 1969 started a "third size". It was also by this time that Pampers became a national brand in the United States.

1970s

In the 1970s Procter and Gamble replaced the pin on design with tapes in 1971 so that parents could take a quick peek at what was going on in the diaper and save their fingers from any accidents. Pampers Toddler Size, Extra Absorbent Daytime, Improved Newborn and Premature Infant Size were also introduced.

Logo used from 1970 to 1998.

1980s

In the 1980s Pampers introduced Cushion Quilted lining and Value Packs. As the brand matured sales slowed - a natural part of the product's life cycle. Procter & Gamble's Paper Division President Dick Nicolosi sought the counsel of new product and positioning strategist Martin Calle and Calle & Company to revitalize the brand. Martin Calle restaged the brand as Pampers Phases Developmental Diapers. The strategy convinced moms that being a toddler was simply another "phase" in the development of their newborn and infant. Pampers phases introduced size 5 (also known as size XL) to hour-glass shaped disposable diapers - successfully arresting well over $2.8 billion in toddler migration to arch rival Kimberly-Clark's Pull-Ups brand. At the time P&G had no plans or capital allocated to manufacture and market a rival line of "pants-like" diapers or "cruisers". Of greatest strategic import to Pamper's Phases launch was that it captured significant lost opportunity sales at a time no one could envision how to generate an incremental diaper usage occasion via traditional consumer knowledge resources. In 1984 Pampers changed all their diapers to an hourglass shape, a feature that was first introduced on Luvs in 1976, and had evolved into an industry standard. In 1986 the first thin diapers made with absorbent gelling material, elastic leg gathers, tabs that could be refastened and a softer liner was released. This made the average weight of a typical medium size diaper decrease by about 50%. In 1987 Pampers and Huggies both introduced new frontal tape systems which allow multiple repositioning of the lateral tape without tearing the diaper. This would become an industry standard until the early 2000s.

1990s

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Logo used from 1998 to 2000.

In the 1990s Pampers introduced Ultra Dry Thins diapers that pulled moisture into the core, then sprang back to absorb even more. Also such short lived features as stretch panels were introduced. They were supposed to help make the diapers more comfortable. In 1995 Pampers Premium was introduced and was hailed as a diaper with breathable side panels. The '90s also saw the introduction of gender specific diapers in the Pampers brand and also the return to unisex diapers towards the end of the decade. In 1993 Pampers first attempt at training pants was introduced these were simply known as Pampers Trainers and would be a short lived product. Pampers would not try doing training pants again until the introduction of Easy Ups.

Pampers Size 6

In 1998 Procter & Gamble introduced its largest diaper ever: Pampers Baby Dry Size 6. It was promoted in an advertising campaign featuring famous pediatrician and child development expert Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. Dr. Brazelton had taken a no stress, go slow approach to toilet training for about 30 years and according to P. & G. he recommended a larger size diaper be introduced. Consumer research also showed a need for the larger size, the company said. In the commercial Dr Brazelton said to let the child decide when the time is right to potty train. The Size 6 Diapers were billed as for growing toddlers. Huggies also introduced a Size 6 diaper at this time.

Controversy

Since the diapers were introduced, there was a controversy going on between pediatrician, T. Berry Brazelton and syndicated columnist and best-selling author of books for parents, John Rosemond. The controversy was about the length of time a baby should wear diapers and when to start toilet training. Rosemond believes it is a "slap to the intelligence of a human being that one would allow baby to continue soiling and wetting himself past age 2."

Rosemond believes the process is simple and as straightforward as housebreaking a 4-month-old puppy.

Brazelton said there is more to it than that. Parents who force toilet training, he says, can cause lasting problems. "Don't rush your toddler into toilet training or let anyone else tell you it's time. It's got to be his choice," Brazelton advised in a television commercial for Pampers "Size 6" diapers, suitable for children 35 pounds and over."

The trend for late toilet training helped spur the introduction of the giant-sized diaper, designed for toddlers.

While Rosemond concedes that Brazelton has been giving the same advice for decades, he criticized the pediatrician for serving as a consultant to Pampers, a division of Procter & Gamble, and for appearing in Pampers commercials.

Uses for Incontinence

When the Size 6 Diaper was introduced many school age children who still have bedwetting accidents began wearing them at night. Pampers Size 6 is about the size of size 6 underwear and can fit children up to about 70 pounds depending on dimension. For comparison, the average weight of a nine-year old child (male or female) in the United States is 69 pounds.

Some incontinent adults found that the diaper made a good insert for their Adult Diaper because the Pampers have lots of Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP). The Idea when using the Pampers is to cut the plastic backing of the Pampers, and stuff it inside the Adult Diaper. This is so when the Pampers gets saturated, the excess wetness goes through the holes into the adult diaper. The Pampers size 6 when first introduced had a "hard" plastic tape that would be uncomfortable against the skin of the adult, especially the corners which were surprisingly sharp and uncomfortable. For this reason the tapes had to be completely removed. It was said this idea worked for most adults. This idea fell into disuse with the introduction of such products as Depend boost liners. Other incontinent adults use Pampers Size 6 as an insert into their regular underwear for minor incontinence.

Advertising

Print ads

• Print ads often appear in magazines and other periodicals, especially ones geared to parenting. (Examples)

Product placement

• Pampers paid $50,000 to be featured in the film Three Men and a Baby.
• Procter & Gamble is looking at promoting its products such as Pampers more through the use of the product on TV shows.

Television commercials

One method used to advertise Pampers is by the placement of commercials during soap operas produced by Procter and Gamble, such as As The World Turns and Guiding Light, and also during the airing of Parenting Shows. P&G has also sponsored the program Make Room for Baby on the Discovery Health Channel. There was also a lot of Product Placement on this show with each new parent getting a changing table stocked with Pampers products.

Other ways

File:Pampers Billboard in Naulukha Chowk-c.JPG

An example of a billboard.

• Pampers has placed billboards in some countries.
• Pampers has a direct marketing program where they mail relevant content in books to mothers with babies.

North American license

Sesame Street characters are on North American merchandise, such as diapers and wipes.

Other merchandise, including the training pants, features Go, Diego, Go!, Marvel superheroes (especially Spider-Man) and Dora the Explorer.

Asian market characters

• Pampers introduced a mascot called "Pampa" [1] ("Bang Bang" in China [2]), an elephant, in several markets in East Asia. The mascot and related characters were designed by Sony Creative [3].

Characters [4] include (as listed by their Japanese names):

• Pampa (パンパ, Panpa) - A blue elephant character. His name is a takeoff on Pampers (パンパース Panpāsu)
• Pampa Papa (パンパパパ Panpa Papa) - Pampa's father
• Pampa Mama (パンパママ Panpa Mama) - Pampa's mother
• Pompo-chan (ポンポちゃん Ponpo-chan) - Pampa's sister
• Banana Ojisan (バババおじさん)
• Pink-chan- (ピンクちゃん Pinku-chan) Pampa's friend, a pink elephant
• Kamepon- (カメポン) A turtle character ("Kame" (カメ) is Japanese for turtle)
• Wampe - (ワンペ Wanpe) A flute-playing dog
• Kurampuku (クランプク Kuranpuku) - A bear ("Kuma" (クマ) is Japanese for bear)

Competition

The main competitor in the United States is the Huggies brand.

Online References

• P&G Our History
• Diaper History
• Pampers Baby Fresh 2006 Detailed Analysis (2.2MB)
• Disposable Diaper Inventor Dies
• Victor Mills
• Pampers History
• P&G announces Pampers now a bigger disposable
• Delayed Toilet Training Issues
• Ad icon P&G cuts commitment to TV commercials
• Reference to Size 6 Baby Diapers used as an Insert
• Pampers FAQ