Eva Mendes and Naomi Watts Announced as New Celebrity Ambassadors for Pantene

CINCINNATI, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pantene has announced a new advertising campaign, featuring two of the most well-known women in Hollywood. Actresses Eva Mendes and Naomi Watts have been named new celebrity ambassadors for Pantene. Beginning in July 2011, both women will appear in all elements of the brand's holistic marketing campaign, including TV and print advertising, in-store displays, iMedia and public relations campaigns.  Mendes will be supporting the Breakage to Strength collection and Watts will be supporting the Flat to Volume collection.  

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please visit: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pantene/50124/

Mendes is well-known for such Hollywood blockbusters as "Hitch" (2005) and "The Other Guys" (2010) and critically-acclaimed independent films including "We Own the Night" (2007) and "Last Night" (2010). Her elegant personal style and glamorous red carpet flair have placed her on top of best-dressed lists around the world. With her new role as the face of the Pantene Breakage to Strength collection, this classic beauty reveals that Pantene has helped her repair her overworked strands to bring them back to health.

"The amount of torture I put my hair through with flat irons, blow dryers and curling irons leaves my hair extremely damaged," said Mendes. "With Pantene I can use all of these tools and still keep my hair healthy," she continued. "It's amazing to be working with a brand like Pantene that is so honest; there were no tricks on the set of the photo shoot. Each look was natural and never manipulated and my hair looked healthy and beautiful for every shot. Pantene products truly live up to what they promise."

With the announcement of Mendes as Pantene's new ambassador, Pantene will also introduce the Split End Repair Crème to the current Medium-Thick Hair Solutions collection in July 2011. The keratin protection crème helps repair split ends and protect against future damage.

Watts is an Academy Award nominated actress and Hollywood veteran known for her wide range of leading roles including "Fair Game" (2010) and "The Ring" (2002). She will next be seen starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in "J.Edgar" (2012).  She is also well known for her striking good looks as she has appeared on countless "Most Beautiful" lists in magazines and online publications across the globe. Her Pantene campaign will feature her natural hair -- with no extensions, harsh texture-altering chemicals or other deceptive hair tricks to enhance her already gorgeous tresses.

"I am excited to join the Pantene family. I want to let women with fine hair know that achieving beautiful, voluminous hair is possible without damaging your hair or adding extensions," said Watts. "I am truly blown away by the research and science that goes into making Pantene. No matter what your hair type is, you can find a Pantene product that will give you the result you are looking for."  

Watts continues, "Since I became a mother, the time I have for myself has shrunk dramatically. Also, I have never been able to do my own hair. So I am thrilled with Pantene because the quality of the products helps me get the volume I want with very little effort at all."

"With their undeniable beauty and confidence that women admire, Eva and Naomi are wonderful additions to the Pantene family," commented Julie Marchant-Houle, Marketing Director of North American Hair Care at Procter & Gamble. "Eva's strong will helps her achieve anything she wants, and even the constant damage her hair endures won't stop her from having gorgeous, healthy hair."  

"Naomi will be a wonderful inspiration for women looking to enhance the look and texture of their fine hair without taking extreme measures or adding extensions," Marchant-Houle continues.

Dating back to the 1980s with Kelly LeBrock, Pantene has been known for its memorable advertising campaigns and iconic hair imagery.  

"'Don't hate me because I'm beautiful' wasn't just a cultural rallying cry; it kicked off Pantene's creation of a new advertising standard for hair, showing health and shine like never before. From the signature Pantene hair flip to unrivaled shine and movement, the image of Pantene hair was everywhere. And then imitated throughout the industry," said Linda Mummiani, Creative Director and Pantene Visionary at advertising agency, Grey NYC.

"With this new campaign, we wanted to go deeper than just superficial hair care and go back to Pantene's roots in making women shine. So we're digging into how women really relate to their hair and why—all the crazy things we all do to make it look great—and what a meaningful place it really does have in our sense of self. We approached the look of the campaign differently, too. We were inspired by the way healthy hair feels. The simple luxurious touch of it. The feel of it against a woman's skin. That's an experience we all share," Mummiani expanded.

"We fell in love with Eva and Naomi for their unparalleled honesty and willingness to share their truth as women. And we really connected around the idea that beauty is for sharing—that women should support each other to help us all look and feel our best," said Caitlin Ewing, Creative Director and Pantene Writer at Grey NYC.

For more information please visit www.Pantene.com.  To see upcoming exclusive content of Eva Mendes and Naomi Watts, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PanteneNA and follow the brand on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Pantene.

About Pantene Pro-V

The Pantene Pro-V line includes customized collections to help provide all women with healthy, beautiful hair: Customized Solutions, Nature Fusion, Restore Beautiful Lengths, Relaxed & Natural, Classic and Expressions. Pantene Pro-V products are available at drug stores, food stores and mass merchandisers. Suggested retail prices for products range from $3.99 to $6.99 each.

About Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes captured the attention of moviegoers in a small, but pivotal role in the critically acclaimed film, "Training Day." Since then, she has proved she is skilled in both comedic and dramatic roles. Since arriving on the motion picture scene, she has had the opportunity to work with an esteemed and diverse group of directors and co-stars, earning the reputation as a serious actress who is committed to her craft. In 2008, Mendes launched an original home décor line, Vida, exclusively at Macy's stores nationwide. Mendes, who is Cuban-American, was born in Miami and raised in Los Angeles. She began her acting skills with the respected acting coach Ivana Chubbuck, and soon thereafter made her dreams of becoming a working actress a reality.

About Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts is an accomplished actress, consistently receiving rave reviews and accolades for her many performances.  In 2004, she was honored with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu's 21 Grams. Her performance in the film, in which she starred alongside Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, also garnered Best Actress Awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Southeastern Film Critics Association, Washington Area Film Critics and San Diego Film Critics, as well as Best Actress nominations from the SAG Awards, BAFTAs, Broadcast Film Critics and Golden Satellites. Watts was most recently seen in Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child with Annette Bening and Samuel L. Jackson.  She also recently starred in Tom Twyker's The International opposite Clive Owen, David Cronenberg's drama/thriller Eastern Promises opposite Viggo Mortensen and Michael Haneke's thriller Funny Games.  Born in England, Watts moved to Australia at the age of 14 and began studying acting. 

About P&G Beauty & Grooming

P&G Beauty & Grooming products help make beauty dreams real for women worldwide and help men look, feel and be their best everyday.  With more than 100 brands available in nearly 130 countries, P&G's beauty and grooming products delivered sales of nearly $28 billion in fiscal year 2007/08 , making it one of the world's largest beauty and grooming companies.  P&G Beauty & Grooming offers trusted brands with leading technology to meet the full complement of beauty and grooming needs, including  Pantene®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Max Factor®, Cover Girl®, DDF®, Frederic Fekkai®, Wellaflex®,  Rejoice®, Sebastian Professional®, Herbal Essences®, Koleston®, Clairol Professional®, Nice 'n Easy®, Venus®, Gillette®, SK-II®, Wella Professionals®, Braun® and a leading Prestige Fragrance division that spans from point of market entry consumers to high end luxury with global brands such as Hugo Boss®, Lacoste®, and Christina Aguilera®.  Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G (NYSE: PG) and its brand.

SOURCE Pantene Pro-V