Why are soap operas called soap operas when they have nothing to do with soap? l!
Question: why are soap operas called soap operas when they have nothing to do with soap? lol
Answers: why are soap operas called soap operas when they have nothing to do with soap? lol
my theory:
they are so dirty and slutty, that they could use a good amount of soap to clean 'em up?
When they first began they were sponsored by soap companies. Housewives were their target market for commercials.
In the older days when soap operas use to be live, they would sell soap during a commercial.
"Soap operas" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers as the show's sponsors.
Two of the answers are interesting. I didn't realize that soap companies used to sponsor soap operas. I have heard them referred to as "soap box operas". Good question.
When they first started airing, the detergent (soap) companies were the major advertisers so they became "soap operas". Commercials would air selling the product and depict a dramatic scene like a "soap". The name stuck.... no pun intended!
The original "soap operas" began on radio; they were what we would call today "daytime drama", serials for the housewife. Hence, "opera". The "soap" referred to the sponsors, who often owned the show. Many were sponsored by cleaning products and soaps. For example: "Oxydol's own Ma Perkins", Of course, many were sponsored by other products as well. But the term stuck, and is used even up to today.
The leading three soap manufacturers sponsoring the soap operas were (in this order) Procter & Gamble, Lever Brothers and Colgate- Palmolive-Peet. (all of them still advertise on television, and on daytime dramas. )
The longest-running soap opera (actually the longest-running drama in broadcast history) is "Guiding Light," which began on radio in 1937 , moved to television in 1952, and continues today as a full-color one-hour drama on the CBS Network.
Or operas, for that matter!! :-)
They used to be sponsored by Proctor & Gamble mostly and therefore called soaps. And an opera can also be called a drama.