Kimberly-Clark’s Depend brand is "using an inaugural sponsorship of the ESPN Espy awards on July 17 to put a capstone on its 'Great American Try-On' campaign," according to Karl Greenberg of MARKETING DAILY. The campaign is a "consumer participation event to tout Depend Real Fit for Men and Silhouette for Women briefs." The second chapter of the campaign started in April "with an online competition" in which Broncos WR Wes Welker and Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware "started competing for online votes, with the high-vote player winning $50,000 for prostate cancer research." The new campaign benefiting the V Foundation for Cancer Research "includes a humorous TV spot about the vote-raising competition" that will air during The ESPYs. There also is an "in-broadcast segment in which, as part of the Espy awards, one of the two players will take the podium to accept the $50,000." Depend Brand Dir Liz Metz said that the "idea for the campaign was born from a need to demonstrate the flexibility -- literally and figuratively -- of the product by putting it into demanding situations few people would normally experience." Using athletes would "lessen the emotional baggage involved with what the products are all about" (
MEDIAPOST.com, 7/9).
