Swiffer is an American brand of cleaning products that is made by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1999, the brand uses the "razor-and-blades" business model, whereby the consumer purchases the handle assembly at a low price, but must continue to purchase replacement refills and pads over the lifespan of the product. Swiffer has become a half-billion dollar brand in fifteen countries.

Origin

The electrostatic cleaning system which P&G sells under the Swiffer brand was created by Kao Japan. An excerpt from a 1999 BizJournals article explains that "P&G can't claim it came up with the Swiffer idea on its own. A similar product was already on the market in Japan, by a company called Kao". "KAO was marketing this product in Japan for five years," said Cynthia Georgeson, spokeswoman for S.C. Johnson, a $5 billion-a-year, family-run business with brands including Pledge, Johnson Wax, Raid and Windex. King said P&G knew of the Kao product, but did not seek a licensing agreement."

Products

Current products

All the products below have a refill system. Both the product and the refills are currently marketed.

Past products

The following products have been discontinued.

Reusable cloths

Because of the requirement to dispose of the cloth after each clean, using the device frequently can be quite costly. Because of this, multiple third-party companies have created cloth reusable pads typically made out of a microfiber fabric that can be machine washed after each use.

Television commercials

The TV commercials for Swiffer often have 1970s/1980s music playing in the background. The old commercials start with a person having their old cleaning products and proceed to switch to Swiffer Products. The first series of commercials begin with a woman using the Swiffer product, while her old cleaning product (usually a mop, broom or feather duster), having a persona, is left out and wants to be used again. The woman continues to use her Swiffer and the mop is left by itself. The second series of commercials include the mop, broom or feather duster moving on to a new girlfriend (including a bowling ball, a rake or an antique doll). A commercial announcer (voiced by Blaze Berdahl) states, "Switch to Swiffer, and you'll dump your old (mop, broom, duster). But don't worry. He'll find someone else." Notable songs used in these commercials include "Whip It" by Devo, "Don't You Want Me" by Human League, "One Way or Another" by Blondie, "That Lady" by the Isley Brothers, "Baby Come Back" by Player, "Love Stinks" by The J. Geils Band & "What About Love" by Heart.