• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 1, 2021

The day after Halloween — that would be today — is National Brush Day, as in toothbrushing.

Makes sense with the tons of candy collected nationwide by kids yesterday. I was surprised to learn the impetus for NBD came not from a toothpaste company but a coalition of oral-health organizations and The Ad Council, which launched the first campaign for it in 2012.

Now Tropicana is glomming onto the day with a new “limited edition” toothpaste that can be used before drinking your morning glass of OJ without getting that super icky after-taste.

All I can say, Tropicana, is what the heck took you so long?

That’s been a problem since the invention of toothpaste. Or at least since the invention of toothpaste with cleansing agent sodium lauryl sulfate, which has been identified as the cause of the foul aftertaste.

Nearly 80% of people agree brushing your teeth with toothpaste can ruin the taste of orange juice in the morning, according to a recent survey by the PepsiCo-owned juice marketer. The notoriously bad combination continues to be a hot topic around the breakfast table and on social media, with more than 20,000 mentions this year, according to the company.

Tropicana’s big idea: make a toothpaste without sodium lauryl sulfate so that before breakfast, toothbrushers can drink their morning OJ without wanting to spit it out. It’s not the most original big idea, as a number of well-known toothpaste brands have been out in the market with non-SLS products including Toms, Sensodyne, Burt’s Bees, Hello and others.  

That could be one reason Tropicana isn’t selling its product, created with Dynamic Blending Specialists, at least for now. Instead, it’s created a social sweepstakes where participants have a chance to win some.

Consumers are encouraged to comment on Tropicana’s Instagram page today through Nov. 4 using #TropicanaToothpaste and #Sweepstakes to be entered for a chance to win some of the limited-edition toothpaste.

If you win, you could do your own taste test with some of the other aforementioned non-SLS brands to see if Tropicana has come up with something truly groundbreaking.

The Tropicana Toothpaste campaign was developed with ad agency Cramer-Krasselt and MullenLowe PR. Other components include a partnership with lifestyle publication Hypebeast to create an Instagram Reel and accompanying editorial post prompting consumers to vote on the worst flavor combination. That effort was designed to further fuel debate on the internet.