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Vicks History


The Vicks® story isn’t brief, but it is interesting. Below is a decade-by-decade timeline that shows how Vicks has grown for more than 100 years.

Click on any of the decades below to take a look at past Vicks ads, watch vintage TV spots, learn interesting Vicks facts, and see just how far the legacy has grown. .

Historical Vicks ads are for entertainment purposes only. Historical product claims may no longer be valid. For information on current Vicks products and usage, go to the Products section. Use all products as currently directed.

Vicks: A Century of Soothing, Comforting Care

1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s
1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s

Vicks in the 1890s
A jar of Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve from the 1890s.
Enlarge		Lunsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Greensboro, North Carolina, creates and sells 21 patent medicines under the "Vicks" name in the 1890s. Of the 21 medicines, the best-selling version by far is the Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve.

The salve's ingredients include menthol and a little-known Japanese ingredient. When the ointment is rubbed onto a person's chest, body heat vaporizes the menthol, releasing soothing, medicated vapors for hours.
A bottle of Vicks Chill Tonic circa the 1890s.
Enlarge		Vicks Chill Tonic was one of the 21 different medicines originally developed by Lunsford Richardson.
A bottle of Vicks Liniment circa the 1890s
Enlarge		Vicks Liniment was one of the 21 different medicines originally developed by Lunsford Richardson.
Historical Vicks ads are for entertainment purposes only. Historical product claims may no longer be valid.
For information on current Vicks products and usage, go to the Products section. Use all products as currently directed.