Shoppers were stunned after learning about the historical inspiration behind the name of the popular Ajax sprays and wipes.
Ajax shares the name with a Greek god known for his strength, giving double meaning to their slogan “Stronger than fat”.
While Ajax owner Colgate Palmolive has never confirmed the meaning behind the name, it is believed to be a reference to the famously muscular mythological figure in Greece where no one was believed to be stronger. .
Customers lose it after discovering that the name cleaning products has a double meaning, referring to the claim that Ajax is stronger than others and the Greek god known for his strength.
Who was Ajax?
The Great Ajax is a hero of Ancient Greek Mythology in Homer’s Iliad. The Iliad is an epic poem that tells the story of the Trojan War. This war was fought between the Greeks and the Trojans.
Ajax, the son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis, played an important role in the Greek army during this war. Ajax is described as one of the greatest warriors of the Greeks, second only to his cousin Achilles. Physically, Homer describes him as tall and broad-shouldered, as can be seen in the following excerpt from the Iliad.
As many say, it was “harder than all of Greece” that inspired the brand of the famous degreasing spray.
While Ajax is widely considered a surface spray and scrub in Australia, the company manufactures many other cleaning products worldwide, including dish soap, in the United States.
A Facebook post wrote, “Their slogan is ‘it’s stronger than fat,’ and I’m like, okay, yeah, it makes sense for dishwashing liquid—wait.”
“Ajax was a Greek soldier known for his strength – Ajax is stronger than all of Greece.”
The post received more than 38,000 “likes” and hundreds of comments from people were shocked as they never understood the ambiguity before.
One thought, ‘I don’t know how I lost’, while the other said, ‘You played well, Ajax’.
A third joked, “I always think their target audience is historians.”
A fourth wrote, “Whoever is writing this is probably the Ajax employee who invented it.. we never got it.. they got tired of waiting.”
However, while others said they always understood the hidden meaning, one person said, “I thought it was common knowledge.”
Another commented, “This was already known years ago, like when it came out.”
“The first ads claimed it,” said one user.
Some said they knew the slogan was “stronger than dirt,” while others wondered if the meaning fit in with Ajax’s history.
Earlier, a Reddit user shared the same fact and sparked a discussion where one person gave more in-depth explanations.
‘The original slogan of Ajax dust was ‘Stronger than Dirt!’ This was a reference to the muscular character Ajax from Greek mythology,” they wrote.
“Some Ajax detergents now have the brand slogan ‘Stronger than oil’! this is perhaps a more explicit reference to the Trojan warrior, the word ‘fat’ being a pun on ‘Greece’.
Source: Daily Mail