Ah, summer. Sun, beaches, swimming, and bikinis.

For many women, bikinis mean serious business – gym sessions to get that toned stomach, spray tans, and the most unappealing of all tasks: hair removal. Nowadays, women have choices for the preferred method of torture. Laser? Electrolysis? Threading? Plucking? Shaving? Waxing? Depilatory cream?

Back in the 1940s, when Nair was first introduced, shaving was the norm, and depilatory cream was the future of smoother legs everywhere. However, the brand didn’t really take off until the 1970s with its breakout ad campaign featuring short-short wearing 20-something women, dancing and strutting to the tune of its now-iconic jingle.

The catchy tune and versions of it, lasted for decades, declaring “Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts! If you dare wear short shorts, Nair for short shorts.”

The jingle was based off of the 1950s hit song by The Royal Teens. The term “short shorts” was what the band members had dubbed cutoff jeans that teenage girls were wearing in the summer of 1957. The beachy song was a smash, hitting #3 on the Billboard charts in 1958. And thanks to Nair, it’s now a song that nearly every woman who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s can instantly identify. 

In 2007, Nair even paid tribute to its iconic ad campaign, featuring women in short shorts dancing to the legendary jingle, saying that “For years, Nair freed women to move like never before.” The updated ad campaign still paid homage with dancing women and short shorts, but with updated music, clothing, and dance moves.