Charmin® Sets in Motion Fancy Footwork in New York City to Break Guinness World Records™ for Largest Cha-Cha-Cha Dance

NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- As temperatures plunged across the country, New Yorkers warmed up with Procter & Gamble [NYSE: PG] Charmin® in Times Square on Tuesday, December 14 by attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest Cha-Cha-Cha dance. Inspired by Charmin's signature jingle and in celebration of the 5th year of the Charmin Restrooms in Times Square, Latin singer Luis Fonsi led thousands of dancers of all ages in a traditional Cha-Cha-Cha for charity. For the participants that braved the cold weather in the attempt to break the world record, Charmin donated $20,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, the exclusive benefiting charity of this event.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101215/NY17722)

New Yorkers responded to the challenge with holiday gusto. The current Guinness World Records title holder is TVN Television in Krakow, Poland. The station secured 3,270 people to dance the Cha-Cha-Cha for a consecutive five minutes over two years ago on August 31, 2008.

"I'm excited to help celebrate the fifth year of the Charmin Restrooms in Times Square and love the idea of trying to be a part of a word record," says Luis Fonsi. "We had lots of fun with this dance and in the holiday spirit helped raise funds for a local charity."

The stage for this history-making event took place in Times Square on Military Island at Broadway and 7th Ave between 43rd and 44th Sts, just steps away from the Charmin Restrooms.

"We wanted to do something big to celebrate the Charmin Restrooms' fifth year in New York City and also mark the opening of the first international Restrooms location in Mexico City.  What's better than attempting to break a world record?" Lisa Feria, brand manager Charmin says. "Not only does this event allow us to engage with the consumers in a fun atmosphere, but it's steps away from the Charmin Restrooms."

The Charmin Restrooms, located at 142 West 42nd Street in Times Square between 6th  Avenue and Broadway, offer tourists and local New Yorkers a free, clean and family-friendly place to "enjoy the go" during this busy time of year.  More than 1.5 million people from 100 countries and all 50 states have visited the Restrooms since they launched in 2006.  This year, the facilities have moved to a new spot near Times Square and feature 15 plush, deluxe, ADA-compliant, family-friendly and fully staffed restrooms that offer a highly engaging and interactive Charmin experience.  Attendants are on staff to service each stall after every use, and families will be entertained by the fun, interactive activities.  

Additional luxuries include baby changing stations, comfortable lounge areas, and perennial favorites: the over-sized toilet photo op and the potty dance stage. New to the Restrooms will be a giant smartphone-inspired video display and a social media kiosk area.

The Charmin Restrooms are open to the public seven days a week from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. now through December 31.  They will be open until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and until 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and closed on Christmas Day.

For more information about the Charmin Restrooms, visit EnjoytheGo.com. To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters and how you can donate or volunteer in your area, please visit www.bbbs.org.

About Charmin

Charmin has been America's most popular toilet paper for more than 25 years.  In the U.S., P&G offers Charmin Ultra Soft and Charmin Ultra Strong - super premium two-ply toilet paper; Charmin Basic - a one-ply toilet paper; Charmin Sensitive - with gentle and soothing lotion with a touch of aloe & E; and Charmin Freshmates - flushable moist wipes.  For more information on Charmin, visit http://www.charmin.com/.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world.  The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide.  Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE P&G/Charmin