Doxidan Minnie

Submitted by Kyle Dayton February 14th, 2011
Certifikitsch Winner

I’m pleased to introduce you to Minnie, representing Doxidan Stimulant Laxative.

Giving new meaning to the phrase “women’s movement”, here she is with her protest sign (Liberation From Constipation).

I suspect that this vintage rubber statuette may have been made during the heyday of the Women’s Liberation Movement somewhere around the 1960’s-early 1970’s, but since I don’t know when Doxidan was first put on the market, I can only guess. (There isn’t even a year listed in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Encyclopedia by Marshall Sittig).

This was one of those gotta-have-it characters in my advertising collection, probably because my late grandmother was also named Minnie. One of the many priceless bits of wisdom and advice that she shared with me was to make sure that I had enough “roughage” in my diet. The spirit of my beloved Grandma Minnie lives on in so many ways. I sometimes wonder if she was the inspiration for this Minnie…

“Take one in the p.m. for a b.m. in the a.m.”  Was this really an old slogan for this product?

From the back, it disturbingly looks like her sign has been buried in her head:

Here for your viewing pleasure is a vintage Doxidan commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjPmyFsc8NM

From the VideoSurf.com website, another classic (it follows an unrelated newer 15-second ad. Wait for it…):

http://www.videosurf.com/video/doxidan-hour-magazine-bump-in-30168802?vlt=kosmix

And who could forget that other memorable television spot from a few decades ago, of the guitar-playing cowboy crooning “The Ballad of the Gentle Laxative”:

When I’m irregular
Here’s what I do
I take Doxidan because it works
When I expect it to
Doxidan, Doxidan, I get no surprises
I feel better in the morning
Sure as the sun rises
Doxidan, oh Doxidan
When nature needs a helpin’ hand
Get overnight relief with Doxidan
As sure as the sun rises.

(thank you to derf for originally posting this version in The Death of Metal archived online blog).

Our ever-youthful, occasionally-irregular, blue-haired Minnie stands four inches tall including her sign.

5 Responses to “Doxidan Minnie”

  1. Allee Willis

    First of all, massive kudos on your excellent documentation! You have covered every base (and every toilet) in your report. I would also throw in that the color of this thing is hideous. Really reeks in all ways, shapes and form.

    I do like that they went for blue hair but I’d also like to point out that you don’t have to be 100 years old to be constipated. And you certainly don’t need a sign shoved into your head.

    May you have a very un-constipated, free-flowing Valentines Day today!

  3. k2dtw

    Great post…Love Minnie.. And it was refreshing to see a commercial without the dreaded warnings at the end…that seem to be getting longer…smile

  4. Kyle Dayton

    Thanks! Since Minnie is the color of chewed gum, I tried to capture images of her where she wouldn’t look too washed out.

    Happy Valentine’s Day!