BAND-AID® Brand Celebrates 85 Years of Innovation with Reinvention of the Traditional Bandage

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2005 - 10:00 PDT


BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, an iconic part of American history, celebrated its 85th anniversary today with the unveiling of the next generation of bandage with COMFORT-FLEX™ technology. Featuring a revolutionary adhesive material and tapered shape, bandages with COMFORT-FLEX™ technology will replace the traditional bandages that have been on store shelves since the early 1950s. The traditional strip will now take its rightful place in the Johnson & Johnson archives in New Brunswick, NJ.

To celebrate the 85th Anniversary of BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages and ring in the new era of COMFORT-FLEX™ technology, the BAND-AID® Brand bus - an interactive mobile museum that captures the brand's history and innovations and educates the public about proper wound care - will cover America from coast to coast during a nationwide tour. Additionally, to usher in this new era, the iconic tin returns to select store shelves for a limited time only after a decade-long hiatus.

"For more than 85 years, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have been a part of everyday life for American families," says John Weinstock, group product director, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company. "When asked what provided the most comfort, Americans ranked mom's kiss and BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages side by side. That is powerful. We know that our brand is protecting and healing our customers everyday."

The New BAND-AID® Brand - COMFORT-FLEX™ Technology Cutting Edge

COMFORT-FLEX™ technology combines a revolutionary adhesive material with a new tapered shape, which helps prevent curling, peeling or falling off so the bandage stays "Stuck on You" like never before. BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages featuring COMFORT-FLEX™ technology are currently available in sheer, clear and plastic varieties.

"BAND-AID® Brand has always been at the forefront of wound care," says Weinstock. "For instance, while the previous shape and material of BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have covered consumers' needs for generations, new COMFORT-FLEX™ technology delivers greater comfort and flexibility."

The Tins

The BAND-AID® Brand tins, originally retired over a decade ago, have been brought back for a limited time only to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages and ring in the new era of COMFORT-FLEX™ technology. The series of four limited edition 85th anniversary tins, containing BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages with COMFORT-FLEX™ technology, will appear in select grocery stores, drug stores and mass merchandisers from April until June, 2005.

The BAND-AID® Brand Bus Tour

The BAND-AID® Brand Bus is an interactive mobile museum where parents and children can trace the 85-year history of BAND-AID® Brand, juxtaposed against major world events. Visitors can take a tour down memory lane to see cherished artifacts from every decade from the 1920s to the present day, including original tins and bandages, and commercials featuring Hollywood stars John Travolta, Brooke Shields and Teri Garr before they were famous. The bus will also act as a traveling wound care education center, where parents and children alike can learn how to properly clean, treat and protect minor cuts and scrapes and experience the latest innovations from BAND-AID® Brand. Interactive areas will include a "boo-boo" station for treating children's favorite dolls or teddy bears and an arts and crafts stall, among others. The tour will travel across the country from April to June, 2005.

BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages - Brand History

BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have come a long way since Johnson & Johnson cotton buyer Earle Dickson created the first one out of necessity in 1920. After his wife Josephine endured several cuts and burns due to kitchen accidents in the early days of their marriage, Earle prepared a ready-made adhesive bandage by laying several cotton squares at intervals along an adhesive strip and covering them with crinoline. BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, as we know them, hit store shelves in the early 1950s as plastic strips. Today, over 100 billion BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have been produced since the first bandage was invented. Throughout the years, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages have traveled to outer space, helped in times of war, made friends with celebrities and kept their promise to stay "Stuck on You."

BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages is an internationally known brand of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company, a division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.

http://www.jnj.com

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