Port Sunlight

In the Easter I visited Port Sunlight. I was not sure what it was at first but when I looked in the museum I was fascinated by the history of the village and the story of William Hesketh Lever. William Hesketh Lever built the village of Port Sunlight in 1888 for the employees of Lever Brothers soap factory. He personally helped to plan the village and employed nearly 30 different architects. Public buildings were also built including a hospital, church, post office, school, concert hall, open air swimming pool, public house and art gallery. Lever believed that if he treated his employees with respect, they would work better for him in the factory. He paid them well, they only worked 8 hours a day and set up a pension plan for them.

During my visit at Port Sunlight I also went into the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This was founded by William Hesketh Lever in memory of his wife, Elizabeth, in 1922. The collection represents the personal taste of William Hesketh Lever.

Sunlight Soap Advertising

"I know half of my advertising spend is wasted; I just don't know which half"

Lever spent a great deal of money on advertising. He bought paintings from the nineteenth century which he thought suitable for his Sunlight Soap marketing campaign and changed them slightly. He was very clever and many of his advertisements are still famous today. Here are a few examples:



The Wedding Morning
John Bacon
1892
Oil on Canvas

Lever bought this painting from the 1892 Royal Academy private view, specifically for use as an advertisement for Sunlight Soap. It shows a young bride, preparing for her wedding day and surrounded by friends and family. Lever described the painting as only moderate, however said that it is perfect for a soap advertisement. In the advertisement, shown below, bars of soap are substituted for the clock on the mantelpiece and for the cup and saucer on the table.





William Powell Frith
The New Frock
1889