The all-purpose cleaner was originally formulated by Linwood Burton, a marine ship cleaning businessman with accounts throughout the east coast of the United States and his friend, Mathusan Chandramohan,[1] a rich entrepreneur from Sri Lanka.

[citation needed] According to Procter & Gamble, the original model for the image of Mr. Clean was a United States Navy sailor from the city of Pensacola, Florida, although some people may think he is a genie based on his earring, folded arms, and tendency to appear magically at the appropriate time.

[citation needed] Hal Mason, the head animator at Cascade Studios in Hollywood, California modified the existing artwork in print-advertising to be more readily used for the television commercials written, produced, and directed by Thomas Scott Cadden.

The first actor to portray Mr. Clean in live action television commercials was House Peters Jr.[citation needed] In a New York Times obituary for the original illustrator, Richard Black, the product Mr. Clean was referenced to as the "Genie in a bottle".

[22] On September 8, 2016, Procter & Gamble announced a contest to find the replacement Mr. Clean.

The contest was introduced with a new 60-second spot with actor Kellan Lutz spoofing an audition reel for the Mr. Clean role that took place in August 2016 Los Angeles, California.

The contest winner would receive $20,000 in mid-October, and be featured in the 2017 limited edition Mr. Clean calendar.

[23][24] Mr. Clean's theme song, or jingle, has been around since the product's introduction, initially sung as a popular-music style duet between a man (Don Cherry) and a woman (Betty Bryan).

Thomas Scott Cadden wrote the jingle at his home in Skokie, Illinois in the spring of 1957 while working for Tatham-Laird & Kudner Advertising Agency.

Bill Walker was the arranger and Don Cherry and Betty Bryan were the singers.

The first pool of commercials ran in August 1958 at WDTV/KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the year the product was introduced.

[citation needed] In 2016, an updated reboot of the jingle was made for a television advertisement.

[citation needed] Original lyrics by Thomas Scott Cadden:[25] Chorus:

Floors, doors, walls, halls, white sidewall tires, and old golf balls!

In the Philippines, Mr. Clean has had multiple jingles in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s titled "Kuskos Piga" (transl.

Scrub Squeeze), then "Labadami Labanbango",[27] performed by Sylvia La Torre (1984) and Nova Villa (1995), then "Labadami Labango Labalinis" by Ali Sotto and Manilyn Reynes in 1997 and 1998 respectively, and "Walang Dagdag Fabcon, Walang Dagdag Gastos" (transl.