Procter & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful Honored With City of Cincinnati Proclamation

CINCINNATI, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), today expressed deep appreciation and delight that Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati, and Ohio State Senator Eric Kearney declared May 21 "My Black is Beautiful Day" in Cincinnati and Ohio.  The Proclamations hailed the significant contributions P&G has made in empowering African American women to embrace their beauty, health and wellness through the inspiring My Black is Beautiful initiative.

Celebrating its fourth year, My Black is Beautiful (MBIB), a multi-faceted campaign featuring a national television show now in its second season on BET Networks, has evolved into a nationwide movement designed to ignite and support a sustained national conversation by, for and about African American women and the way they are reflected in popular culture.  It also serves as a catalyst for African American women to adopt a new mindset in how they view themselves.  

"P&G thanks Mayor Mallory and State Senator Kearney for recognizing our company with this honor," said Beverly Grant, Vice President, Customer Business Development, P&G, in accepting the Proclamations.  "They confirm the important role P&G is playing in fostering a new, uplifting dialogue among African American women and validating positive self images."    

P&G marked the distinction by celebrating "My Black is Beautiful Day" at P&G's Cincinnati headquarters to extend a big thanks to both employees and civic leaders for supporting the program.  Showing support for P&G's MBIB initiative, community leaders and partners attended from the Cincinnati Chapter of The African American Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati Urban League, Greater Cincinnati United Way and the Cincinnati Visitors Bureau.

"My Black is Beautiful is a great example of P&G's commitment to touch and improve the lives of consumers," said Marc Pritchard, Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer, P&G. The My Black is Beautiful program offers a variety of products, services and entertainment that have been uniquely designed to improve the lives of African American women."

The Proclamations were delivered during the My Black is Beautiful employee event day where the TV program's host Tasha Smith and other cast members Kim Coles, Leela James and Alesha Renee and MBIB co-creators and P&G brand managers Kisha Mitchell Williams and Pamela Rhett showcased the My Black is Beautiful campaign and its interactive pop-up beauty spa for senior company leaders, civic leaders and employees.

"We are proud of the support from Mayor Mallory and State Senator Kearney on such an important initiative that seeks to inspire, empower and celebrate African American women," said Kisha Mitchell Williams, Multicultural Brand Manager, P&G. "We encourage everyone to join and help sustain the national conversation about black beauty, healthy living and positive self images started by the My Black is Beautiful campaign.  We want to forever celebrate the diverse and collective beauty of all African American women and are excited to bring My Black is Beautiful home to our colleagues in Cincinnati."

Several P&G brands sponsor the My Black is Beautiful initiative:  Crest Pro-Health®, Pantene®, CoverGirl® Queen Collection, Olay® Definity, Secret®, Always® and Tampax®.   My Black is Beautiful involves several elements, including a multi-city interactive consumer event "MBIB Live" with the TV show's host, actress Tasha Smith and co-hosts singer Leela James, actress/comedian Kim Coles and television personality Alesha Renee.  As well as being able to participate in the "live taping" of the TV show, local community members can receive complimentary makeovers provided by P&G's MBIB-supporting brands in a pop-up salon . The 2010 MBIB campaign will culminate with the sponsorship of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans in July.  

About My Black is Beautiful

Procter & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful program was created to celebrate African-American beauty and to encourage black women and young girls to define and promote their own beauty standard.  One of the goals of the My Black is Beautiful initiative is to inspire and encourage future generations to adopt a new mindset for viewing themselves and uplift the way African Americans are portrayed in society.  The integrated, multi-brand initiative is supported by Crest Pro-Health®, Pantene®, CoverGirl® Queen Collection, Olay® Definity, Secret®, Always® and Tampax®.

For more information about the My Black is Beautiful campaign, visit www.myblackisbeautiful.com.  Join our Facebook fan page or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBIBMovement.  

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(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), Braun(R) and Fusion(R).  The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide.  Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble