P&G Wants Food Professionals to Take the Lead for Upcoming Campaign

Procter & Gamble is inviting food professionals to create advertisements on the subject of back-of-the-house-cleaning and state of sanitation in their industry. The winner will be included in the company’s next advertisement and receive USD 1,000.

by Angelique van Engelen

The contest organised by Procter & Gamble Professional and entitled “Create Our Ad” asks foodservice professionals to develop print or video advertisements. The company is interested in seeing as many entries as possible, because it believes that people, who work in the foodservice industry, have remarkable insight and unique perspectives on the trade.

The company has set up a website to offer contest details, general guidelines and suggestions to help non-advertising professionals create ads. Contestants will also be asked to recommend the publication or Web site, where their entry should run.

Procter & Gamble is not the first to invite direct audience participation into an upcoming ad campaign. Other blue chip companies that have experimented with the technique include GM’s Chevrolet division, which sought to promote the 2007 Tahoe, a Mentos sponsored Geyser Video Contest, and the Utah Department of Transportation, which sponsored a competition to create commercials on the dangers of drowsy driving. All these campaigns focused on the retail market. However, Procter & Gamble’s contest is among the first to apply the concept in a business-to-business setting.