This commercial is a little...odd. But fun to watch anyway.

It also made a good bubble bath. I dont remember whether I came out streak and spot free but it sure made a lot of long lasting suds. Fun, fun, fun.

A cold, humiliating slap in the face to women evrywhere, Dreft makes a great gift for voyeurs and condecending chauvinists to give to their wives on those belated birthdays and forgotten aniverseries. Its the back door for everybody!

The mystery is "What the heck did they put on those dishes to simulate film cling????" And why are we sneaking around into ladies' homes spying on their cleansing techniques? All in all, I felt creepy and voyeuristic, thanks to "Hollywood magic." Funny commercial, though. Glad to see Dreft has updated its packaging design...

I wrote to the Dreft people in September, 2003. The Procter and Gamble People have changed their tune on Dreft since 1940 as witness:

Hi, Mary.

Dreft is designed for use when washing clothing only. We don't recommend using if for dishes.

Linda
USA Dreft Team

Not too sure of 'the film mystery' but this visit to Mrs Smith' "it's the back door for us!" (snicker) and begging her not to dry her dishes. What happens? A film appears on her dishes! We then gasp as she peels off the film of the glass, the narrator quickly chimes in and says this is how they do it in the movies. Ohhhh, what was the point of that? The narrator convinces us the only way to avoid this happening again (what, people coming through the back door?) is by using 'Dreft', a unattractive, stupidly named detergent. Highly reccomended, for it'll just take a minute of your time.

Well preserved and transferred, poorly produced and edited. Seems to have been edited down from a longer version. In this exactly 60 second piece, the boisterous VO blathers on in monologue, letting himself and the Smart Woman (married, but not his wife) into Mrs. Smith's home through the back door to lecture her about her apparently horribly shameful streaky dishpan film.
Was this released for theatrical use? The ad's title "A Film Mystery" is the only mysterious element: there's no mystery presented in the thin plot.
There's an abrupt association between soap film and adhesive tape film: a bizarre red herring with many possible meanings: other advertisers use cheap tricks to make a glass seem clean, but we use jump cuts and fades to accomplish the same thing.
The patronizing and jovial bullying voiceover tone is apparently a tacitly accepted means of communicating with women.
Dreft was marketed for washing delicate women's undergarments; this is made clear in the final product reveal. This ad tries to reposition the product.
A quick check of http://dreft.com and http://www.dreftbaby.com shows the result of further repositioning: now it's baby detergent (although the word detergent is carefully avoided.) The site claims Dreft is "the first detergent designed for baby's laundry", for clothing "next to baby's skin", while at the same time "specifically formulated to not only help clean tough baby and toddler stains, but also rinse away thoroughly, leaving clothes virtually residue free."

That's funny, I thought it was for women's delicates. No wait, dishes. Oh yeah, baby clothes. Golly.

Unofficial Shot List:

Ext Day: View from (apparently) a moving vehicle driving through a park. Three people walking in distance cross to right. The camera seems to track them for a moment.
Title over : 'DREFT presents: "A Film Mystery" ' 3E3
VO: Say, what a pretty park! But there's no time for loafing; we're on the way to Mrs. Smith's.
Ext: Back of house. Dolly in.
VO: Here we are. It's the back door for us. We'll find her in the kitchen.
Int Kitchen: Mrs. Smith wearing a full apron at sink. Out all the windows is a blank gray featureless wall. On the counter under the window is a row of matching canisters for flour, sugar, etc. On the table is a bowl of presumably wax fruit. She faces away from camera.
VO: What did I tell you? She's doing her dishes.
CU: MS (torso only) picks up a glass from dishrack.
VO: Take care, Mrs. Smith. Hold on to that towel. Let those darn dishes dry by themselves.
CU: MS puts glass back as ordered.
FX: crossfade CU wet dishrack to dry dishrack
CU: MS hand and a man's hand holding a glass with streaks.
VO: 15 minutes later. Gosh. I suppose I should have known. Look at that streaky dishpan film.
CU: Left male hand removes tape from glass.
VO: In the movies we can take film off this way.
Med: Side view of slightly more buxom Smart Woman (wearing a half-apron) pouring dreft in the sink, replaces box of Dreft on soapdish tilted.
VO: But since you haven't Hollywood technique handy, let this smart woman show you another, more practical way.
She uses Dreft - remarkable new suds improvement.
Med: Dishrack. SW hand puts wet glass in dishrack from right.
FX: crossfade to dry dishrack.
VO: And here's what happens when these dishes have been allowed to dry by themselves.
Med: dishrack - MS hand grabs glass from left.
CU: MS (torso only) holds glass, turning and tilting.
VO: See? No trace of scummy dishpan film? They're sparkling clear, without polishing.
CU: Two glasses on counter, clean one labelled "DREFT WASHED" and filthy one labelled "WASHED THE USUAL WAY."
VO: Now, look at those two glasses side-by-side. You can see the difference yourself!
Med: Kitchen table with bowl of fruit, box of Dreft, and a woman's hand holding a clear glass dish with etched flowers in front of the Dreft box. The woman stands behind the table, holding the dish with her right hand. The woman's hand slowly "steals" the dish to camera left off screen, revealing the Dreft box. The box has a white outline of a woman's slip. The box is labelled "dreft", and in smaller type, "the marvelous new suds for washing silks, rayons and woolens."
VO: Ask your dealer for Dreft. Remember, you must be completely satisfied, or return the box and get double your money back.
FX: fade to black.