How shaving cream paid for a private island: a brief history of Barbasol Shaving Cream
Publicity Photo
Barbasol’s simple look leads to a natural question: How did the shaving aisle’s most humble product pay for this island?
The founding of Barbasol: The chemist and the ad man
It all started in 1919 with an MIT student named Frank Shields (though many sources call him a professor, historical documents say he was a student and occasional teacher). A chemical engineer, he was frustrated that shaving cream had to be worked into a lather, so he developed a new solution. Unlike today’s Barbasol, it came in tubes, not cans.
That’s the extent of the corporate history of Barbasol, but it only scratches the surface. That’s because Frank Shields didn’t work alone—he had a partner named Lou Wasey, who happened to be an advertising genius.
Barbasol’s success isn’t just a story about technology—it’s about revolutionary ads, too.
How Barbasol got its name
Sources are divided over how Barbasol got its name—some say it was named after the German emperor Barbarossa, but others contend it’s a combination of the Latin for beard and a shortened version of solution. Either way, you can bet that Lou Wasey was involved.
Founding the ad agency that made Barbasol big
In 1914, Louis Rice Wasey founded Erwin, Wasey & Co. in Chicago (fortunately near Frank Shields in Indianapolis). The agency was successful in the budding industry, and that put Wasey in the perfect position to make Barbasol a hit.
Barbasol started with glue
Meanwhile, Frank Shields was in Indiana running his company, the Napco Corporation. Their big business was glue, boosted by airplane manufacturing and work related to World War I. It’s reasonable to guess that the end of World War I left Frank looking for new revenue sources. Barbasol was born.
He must have known he’d need a partner for the consumer good. So he partnered with Wasey. Though we don’t know how the partnership came to be (or the exact split of shares), we do know from later court documents that Shields was President and Wasey was Chairman of the Board. Shields may have tried other other ad agencies first, but he stuck with Wasey. And they started work immediately.
A powerhouse brand is built almost instantly, thanks to celebrity endorsements and Singin’ Sam
Once they got started, Shields and Wasey quickly made Barbasol a national name.
It started with celebrity endorsements and free samples. Among many others, Babe Ruth supported the brand with an early testimonial.
That was coupled with Singin’ Sam, the Barbasol Man (you can view a full Singin’ Sam collection). The stage name of Henry Frankel, a former minstrel, Singin’ Sam sang a few tunes and explained how great Barbasol was.
These ad strategies worked—they propelled Barbasol to a position as the top shaving cream. Its success endured through the Depression and World War II simply because men always needed shaving cream.
It’s that success that helped Lou Wasey buy an island.
Welcome to Barbasol Island
Frank Shields was happy living in Indiana, but Lou Wasey didn’t stop with a midwestern empire. He bought an island.
In 1931, he bought North Cat Cay for $400,000, using his fortune from his ad agency and, in part, Barbasol. The Bahamian Island started off as a winter home and expanded to include cottages, homes for friends, and a golf course. It played host to governors, kings, and, naturally, Ernest Hemingway.
Sports Illustrated even covered the fishing tournament Wasey held there. The magazine published a picture of Wasey looking on as a younger man shot skeet.
Though ownership of Barbasol and North Cat Cay has changed hands since, the legacy is in place: take some great technology and amazing ads, and shaving cream can buy you an island.
