Why are soap operas called soap operas?

Answer 1

Soap Operas are midday television dramas targeted to women. They are called "soap operas" because originally the shows were sponsored by soap and detergent companies like Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-palmolive, and Lever brothers. As housewives were the main audience, soap manufacturers were the main sponsors. The shows would be interspersed with commercials for laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, etc.

Answer 2

These Dramas that were originally aired at the outset of Radio had for supporting advertisers Detergents companies because they were on so early (before noon) that only housewives and maids hear them as they were cleaning the house, washing dishes, doing laundry. In other words they could hear their favorite story as they clean the house. And the one constant of all these melodrama's as they jumped from radio to black/white television were it's detergent advertisers and hence the nickname "Soap Opera" was born.

Answer 3

For example, the term "soap opera" was coined by the American press in the 1930s to denote these popular serialized domestic radio dramas. The "soap" in soap opera alluded to their sponsorship largely by manufacturers of household cleaning products

Answer 4

This all started out in the 1920′s; a simpler time where Jazz was swell; the Soviet Union was in its infancy; Robert Goddard became the first rocket man; and the world only existed in black and white.

In this bustling time, radio was the Bee's Knees. On the radio was a series of serials aimed at women aired during the day time. Dame's thought these were the cat's meow and ate up every second of them. The radio networks themselves decided they needed to think up ways to make more clams off these shows and so came up with the idea of getting companies to sponsor the shows.

Now these dolls were no dumb Dora's, so the radio networks sought to match the advertisements closely with their target audience to get a good response. This campaign hit on all sixes and made these shows extremely profitable.

Among the first major sponsors of these shows were soap manufacturers Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers. Eventually, due to the fact that so many of the sponsors were soap manufacturers, the media started calling these shows "soap operas".

Answer 5

They were origionally sponsered by soap products

Answer 6

I don't Know hahah :) UGLY!