The Clue of the Gleaming Hair (Eve Shampoo Advert),

1937
Silent
6m

Luscious hair solves a mysterious disappearance.

Celebrity endorsement is nothing new, as this 1937 advert shows. Made in the form of a short film, it features star of stage and screen Sally Gray, who's reported missing on the eve of a first night. Luckily, the detective in charge has extraordinary powers of deduction and his expert knowledge of women's hair products reveals the truth.

Cinema publicity film for Eve Shampoo.

Two detectives question a maid and a publicity officer at a theatre where the leading lady has disappeared on the eve of a premiere of a new performance, causing much speculation in the newspapers. Later they compare two hairs found in the stars dressing room under a microscope. One is clean and shining the other is dull and covered in soap deposits. One of the detectives knows that the star uses Eve Shampoo which contains no soap and concludes that the maid must have been in her room and that the publicist is in on the act. They return to the theatre to question him, but the star has escaped by herself and confirms that she was kidnapped by her own publicist. The show goes on to a full house and the chorus girls admire the star's hair. Details of how to buy Eve Shampoo as a cream or as powder are given.

What Women Want?

Caring mums, hard-working housewives or independent, fun-loving 'new women' - the female consumer has long been a target of screen advertising.

In the cause of selling anything from baked beans to washing powders to all manner of labour-saving devices, advertisers have promised to make women's lives easier and to help them build happy homes and successful relationships.

There's no getting past the fact that women have all-too often been patronised and objectified by a male-dominated advertising industry. But screen advertising also tells (and sells) a more positive story of social progress for women, with increasing social and economic independence. This collection tracks the ups and downs of female empowerment in the 20th century, with its false steps as revealing as its forward ones.