[2] In 1937, the company was scolded by the Federal Trade Commission for claiming that Wildroot Hair Tonic keeps the scalp "healthy", "penetrates" the sebaceous glands, cleans up dandruff "completely", and that the results were "guaranteed".
[8] At the height of the product's popularity, the company advertised extensively in print, radio and television, claiming that Wildroot Cream-Oil is "again and again the choice of men who put good grooming first.
"[9] In print ads, the company encouraged consumers to try "the Famous Finger Nail Test": "Scratch your head and see if you find dryness or loose, ugly dandruff.
When Sam Spade star Howard Duff and creator Dashiell Hammett were listed in the anti-Communist tract Red Channels, Wildroot was unhappy with the names being associated with the show.
[12] Other radio sponsorships included The Woody Herman Show (1945–46), The King Cole Trio (1946–48), The FBI in Peace and War (1951–52), The Shadow (1952–53) and Twenty Questions (1952–53).