Kilmer House

Delivering medicine through the skin seems like the latest cutting-edge innovation, but it’s actually very old.  In fact, some of the first Johnson & Johnson products delivered medications in that way over 100 years ago: medicated plasters.  Medicated plasters were a way for people to apply a treatment directly to an affected area of the body.  They were made up of an India rubber base impregnated with a variety of compounds that delivered pain relief and a variety of medicines.    These plasters had a fabric backing and were covered with crinoline (a ty

What Johnson & Johnson ad was so popular that people were inspired to make their own versions of it?  Hint:  the ad ran for an incredible 30 years and, when the Company tried to update it, consumers protested.  Here’s another hint:  the ad contained one of our most memorable advertising slogans, and it advertised a product that most people today have never heard of. The Ad that Launched a Thousand Tributes The ad was for RED CROSS® Kidney Plasters, and the tagline was “Feels Good on the Back.”  RED CROSS® Kidney Plasters were one of the Company’s most popular medi

Here’s another special behind the scenes video tour of some lesser known items from Johnson & Johnson history.  If you’ve ever wondered where the last loading dock for horse drawn wagons at Johnson & Johnson is located, which unusual 1960s fashion was made by one of our operating companies, why we once made doll clothing, and how we got from medicated plasters to JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder, you’ll know the answers to all of those questions after you watch this post.   You’ll also be able to see -- for the first time -- letters from two of our founders written

Some of the most enduring images from the history of Johnson & Johnson are those associated with the Company’s baby products.  Generations of families have used these products to care for their children, and consumer identification with them has been so strong that, despite the depth and breadth of its product lines, the Company has enjoyed a longstanding reputation as “the Baby Company.”  But the earliest products of Johnson & Johnson were medical products.  So how did we become known as “the Baby Company?”  Believe it or not, we owe it to the fact that  

It’s January, 1910: exactly 100 years ago.  It’s the start of a new year and a new decade, and Johnson & Johnson is marking that beginning by launching a major new advertising campaign for one of its consumer products:  JOHNSON’S® Shaving Cream Soap.  The product had been introduced in the early 1900s, and was developed out of the Company’s medicated soaps that were manufactured for use by doctors, surgeons and patients.   It was it considered to be an excellent product by the consumers who used it, and it came in innovative packaging – a collapsible tube! – but i