Procter & Gamble's 'My Black is Beautiful' Heads in New Direction: Partners with BET Networks to Create National Television Program to Focus on African American Beauty

Procter & Gamble's 'My Black is Beautiful' Heads in New Direction: Partners with BET Networks to Create National Television Program to Focus on African American Beauty

Results of National Survey Highlight Improved African American Women's Perceptions of Black Beauty and Self Identify as New President Takes Office

CINCINNATI, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Procter & Gamble (P&G) today announced its partnership with BET Networks to create a television series in support of P&G's "My Black is Beautiful" campaign. The inaugural episode of the new TV series features a segment that salute's First Lady Michelle Obama. P&G also paid tribute to this historic occasion as a sponsor of the BET Networks Inaugural Ball.

The "My Black is Beautiful" campaign has evolved into a nationwide movement with the launch of the national television series on BET Networks. The "My Black is Beautiful" campaign is designed to ignite and support a sustained national conversation by, for and about black 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.

A recent P&G consumer survey reveals that 90 percent of African American women feel that Michelle Obama's role as First Lady will have a positive impact on perceptions of African American beauty. Results from respondents also indicate that 86 percent of African American women feel that young black girls will be inspired to embrace their own sense of self-identity as a result of Malia and Sasha's role as First Family. Results from a 2007 P&G "My Black is Beautiful" survey found that 77 percent of African American women are "concerned" about the way they are portrayed in popular media. The vast majority, 71 percent, say that they are portrayed "worse" than other racial groups in the media. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that teens are negatively influenced by those images.

In addition to sponsoring the Michelle Obama "My Black is Beautiful" episode, P&G also partnered with BET Networks to sponsor a news segment spotlighting Michelle Obama, and the BET Networks Inaugural Ball on Tuesday, January 20, which was held in partnership with America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest non-profit alliance dedicated to the well-being of children and youth founded by General Colin L. Powell, (Ret) and his wife Alma.

"P&G is very excited about the role we played as an official supporter of the BET 2009 Inauguration activities. Through our "My Black is Beautiful" program we hope to spark a national dialogue among African American women that speaks to this historic moment and its effect on African American beauty perceptions both here in America and around the world," said Kisha Mitchell Williams, P&G Multicultural Brand Manager. "As the country now collectively reflects on the significance of having Michelle Obama as our first African American First Lady, what better way to spark that conversation than to air such a poignant video in celebration of the wife of our historic 44th President, Barack Obama, the first African American to hold the Office."

The "My Black is Beautiful" campaign, created by a group of African American women at P&G in 2006, aims to ignite and support a sustained national conversation by, for and about black women. The integrated, multi-brand initiative is supported by Crest Pro-Health(R), Pantene(R) Pro-V(R) Relaxed & Natural, CoverGirl(R) Queen Collection, Olay(R) Definity, Always(R) and Tampax(R) and Beautiful Collection(R).

For more information about the "My Black is Beautiful" campaign, visit www.myblackisbeautiful.com.

About My Black is Beautiful

"My Black is Beautiful" celebrates the diverse collective beauty of African American women and encourages black women to define and promote their own beauty standard, one that is an authentic reflection of their indomitable spirit. "My Black is Beautiful" will kick-off a 2009 four-city tour in Charlotte, NC this April. Additional "My Black is Beautiful" tour events are scheduled to take place in: Atlanta (May), Chicago (May) and New Orleans (July).

About the 2009 "State of Black Beauty Survey"

"State of Black Beauty Survey" fielded January 12-13, 2009. Respondents to the survey were African American women, ages 18-54 (sample 1,000+) who responded to a self-administered online survey that explored their knowledge and attitudes toward perceptions of African American beauty and the effect that has occurred on their perceptions post-election. Respondents were self-selected.

About Procter & Gamble

Three 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), Pringles(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella, Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.

Please visit http://www.pg.com/ for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

About America's Promise Alliance

For more information about America's Promise Alliance, visit: www.americaspromise.org.

Source: Procter & Gamble

CONTACT: Patricia Berlin, +1-212-336-9745, or Janna Hughes,
+1-212-336-9772, both of Footsteps, for Procter & Gamble

Web Site: http://www.americaspromise.org/
http://www.myblackisbeautiful.com/
http://www.pg.com/

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