Notes

[alt text]

Photograph of amber liquid being poured into a laboratory beaker, used to promote a detergent and cosmetic surfactant ingredient emphasizing purity and clarity.

[transcription]

When you're making a shampoo, liquid detergent or cosmetic where viscosity will add a luxurious touch… use Calsoft T-60. Its light, clear color and purity, the result of Pilot’s cold sulfonation process, guarantees you uniform, reliable results. Low temperature handling insures the optimum mildness, foaming, cleansing and emulsifying properties of your product. For an exceptionally pure and mild base, try T-60 with the quality which always proves to be economical. For further information, write to:

Pilot Chemical Company
Santa Fe Springs, Calif. 90670

CALSOFT T-60

[additional notes] - Violet Webber

This ad centers almost entirely on material appearance. The pouring amber liquid provides visual proof of purity. Rather than explaining the chemistry, the ad encourages the viewer to trust what looks clear and defined. 

The phrase “feel of quality” is notable because the product itself is invisible to consumers. CALSOFT T-60 operates as a surfactant base, but is described in connection to softness, luxury, and mildness. This reflects how formulation chemicals mediate tactile perception without ever being recognized by end users.

This might be the only ad where googling the chemical pulls up results explicitly for the company that created the ad. As per Pilot, “Calsoft® surfactants are high purity, stable sulfonates for detergents, cleaners, degreasers, and emulsifiers. Manufactured by Pilot’s proprietary ice-cold sulfonation process, Calsoft® surfactants are biodegradable, dependable, uniform, high purity, and low in color, assuring customers of quality performance every time.”

Calsoft® T-60 is Triethanolamine Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate. 

• https://pilotchemical.com/productcategory/calsoft/

• https://pilotchemical.com/document.php?fileID=pds/PDS%20406T00.pdf

• https://pilotchemical.com/document.php?fileID=sds/SDS%20406T00%20USA%20ENG.pdf