Advertiser-supported
entertainment is nothing new. Since medieval times, people could see
free entertainment right in their hometown as long as they listened to a
sales pitch for dubious remedies along with the singing, dancing, and
side show acts. Sales of snake oil and other patent medicines paid for
the show and then some. Like
other forms
of traveling entertainment, the medicine show lost its luster when
people gained the opportunity to go see movies instead. The medicine
show had one last hurrah during the 20th century in the form of Hadacol.
The story of Hadacol is the story of
Dudley LeBlanc.
A born entrepreneur, LeBlanc put himself through college in Lafayette,
Louisiana by running a clothes pressing business. Then he put four
brothers and two cousins through college as well. LeBlanc sold shoes,
tobacco, patent medicine, and funeral insurance. He also ran a funeral
home, which benefitted greatly from insurance sales. LeBlanc served as
state senator and in the Louisiana Public Service Commission. In 1932,
he
ran for governor of Louisiana
against Oscar Allen, who had the support of Huey Long. It was a
particularly nasty campaign that LeBlanc lost. He also ran
unsuccessfully for governor in 1944 and 1952. LeBlanc served as state
senator for four non-consecutive terms between 1940 and his death in
1971. In the midst of his political career, he also made millions
selling Hadacol.
LeBlanc ran into some trouble with the FDA over the patent medicines he
was selling in 1941. Rather than deal with defending products that
weren't all that profitable, he stopped making Dixie Dew Cough Syrup and
Happy Day Headache Powders. Then he came up with something better. The
story LeBlanc told was that he was suffering from pain in his big toe,
and the only doctor who could help him wouldn't share the recipe for the
medicine he used. So LeBlanc stole some from an inattentive nurse and
research the ingredients on the label. From that information, he
developed Hadacol. The name was short for Happy Day Company, with an L
for LeBlanc. However, many years later when someone asked
how he named the drug, LeBlanc said "Well, I hadda call it something."
Hadacol was a mixture of vitamins B1 and B2, iron, niacin, calcium,
phosphorous, honey, and diluted hydrochloric acid in 12% alcohol. The
alcohol content wasn't all that high, but the hydrochloric acid meant it
was
delivered through the body faster
than it would be otherwise. The mixture really made people feel better,
although it wasn't a cure for the many diseases it was advertised for:
high blood pressure, ulcers, strokes, asthma, arthritis, diabetes,
pneumonia, anemia, cancer, epilepsy, gall stones, heart trouble, and hay
fever. And that was only the beginning.
What made Hadacol a success was LeBlanc's advertising ingenuity. He
explored ways to promote his product that took the public by surprise
-and worked. He kept supplies low in some pharmacies to create demand.
He paid people for their testimonies, which sometimes crossed the line
to
ridiculous.
"Two months ago I couldn't read nor write. I took four bottles of Hadacol, and now I'm teaching school."
Hadacol
was everywhere, on radio, on billboards, in newspapers and magazines,
and at the local pharmacy. It was even sold in liquor stores and bars.
People paid $3.50 for a 24-ounce bottle even if they had no food in the
pantry. The hope for a better tomorrow trumped common sense in those
days, just as it does now. LeBlanc pushed Hadacol on his
radio show,
which he broadcast in French. He published a medical pamphlet extolling
the wonder of his elixir. He gave away swag featuring the name Hadacol
on it, including
water pistols and a comic book
for children with stories drawn from glowing testimonies. LeBlanc wrote
a jingle called "The Hadacol Boogie" which was recorded by several
artists including Jerry Lee Lewis. He gave out Hadacol tokens, good for
25 cents off a bottle. LeBlanc had to expand his factory, then build
more factories. Hadacol use spread from Louisiana across the nation.
Millions of bottles were sold every year.
The
Food and Drug Administration objected, not to Hadacol itself, but to
LeBlanc's claims that it cured cancer, epilepsy, asthma, and other
diseases when it clearly
did not. Wanting to avoid trouble,
LeBlanc pulled those claims, but the damage was done. The new health
claims were vague, but he couldn't do anything about the testimonies
consumers gave. Without specific diseases, Hadacol became a cure-all for
whatever people hoped it would cure. And no matter what was wrong, the
medicine made people feel better -and that was all that mattered.
LeBlanc instigated rumors that Hadacol was good for sexual potency, a
tip that was slyly alluded to in the medicine shows. Hadacol was said to
be recommended by doctors, although the only doctor named was Dr. L.A.
Willey, who later turned out to be a Californian convicted of practicing
medicine without a license. To enlist doctors for endorsements, LeBlanc
offered free samples and a payment for each patient a doctor could
recruit for research.
In
1950, LeBlanc took the show on the road. The Hadacol Caravan of 130
vehicles played one-night stands throughout the South. Thousands of
people paid admission with Hadacol box tops each night and enjoyed
entertainment from Carmen Miranda, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope, Lucille
Ball, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, and other
big names. The band played, chorus girls danced, circus acts performed,
and LeBlanc sold millions of bottles of Hadacol. the caravan then headed
west and recruited the talents of Groucho Marx and Judy Garland. In
1951, LeBlanc toured using a 17-car train called
the Hadacol Special.
The shows featured bicycle giveaways, beauty contests, and clowns
selling Hadacol. Jack Dempsey, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante, and Cesar
Romero joined the show, which played for a month straight in Los
Angeles. Hank Williams played the final act of the show and brought
people to their feet every night.
At
the time, Hadacol was the second biggest advertiser in the US, right
after Coca-Cola. As the caravan headed east, there were hints that all
was not well with LeBlanc financially. The company head was spending
more in advertising than he was bringing in. He
announced that he was selling the company
to the Maltz Cancer Foundation, but would stay as a sales manager. The
actual buyers included Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon who ran a
"private research project." Then news then came that LeBlanc was in
trouble with the IRS. The caravan tour laid off some performers, then
cancelled before the end of the schedule. Some performers were stranded
without pay. The group that bought Hadacol was stunned to find how far
in debt the company was, and declared bankruptcy even before paying the
entire $8 million selling price to LeBlanc. Still, LeBlanc had the last
laugh, as the company's debts were no longer his. Later that year,
LeBlanc appeared on Groucho Marx' TV show
You Bet Your Life. Marx asked him
what Hadacol was good for. LeBlanc quipped "It was good for about"¦ 5 and a half million dollars for me last year."
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