HILARY SWANK GROWS THE DISTANCE FOR
PANTENE® BEAUTIFUL LENGTHS™
Award-Winning Actress Will Make the Kindest Cut for Women with Cancer
CINCINNATI, July 19, 2007 - Two-time Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank announced today that she has committed to grow, cut and share her long hair with Pantene Beautiful Lengths. This incredibly personal donation will be part of a year-long association between leading actress Swank and Pantene's unique charitable campaign. In her new role, Swank will star in a Pantene Beautiful Lengths print public service announcement (PSA) and encourage people across the US and Canada to follow her example.
Pantene is a brand that knows the importance of healthy, beautiful hair, and the impact that it has on a women's sense of self. That's why, one year ago, Pantene partnered with the Entertainment Industry Foundation™ (EIF) to create Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a campaign that inspires people to grow, cut and donate their healthy hair to make free real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.
"I have lost multiple family members to cancer and witnessed their struggle first hand. I've never heard of anything quite like Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and I'm proud to be asked to promote the goals of such a unique and heartfelt program," explains Ms. Swank. "It's an honor to be associated with Pantene's campaign, and I just hope that my contribution will help to inspire others to get involved in whatever way they can."
Since its launch in July 2006, Pantene Beautiful Lengths has attracted the hearts and the hair of women, men and children across the continent. Regardless of whether individuals donated in a private gesture at their local salon, or joined others in the growing phenomenon of community cutting events, their generosity has already resulted in more than 17,000 ponytail donations overall, a Guinness World Record™ and the distribution of 2,000 free, real-hair wigs.
"For the past 60 years, Pantene has helped generations of women achieve healthy, beautiful hair through its ongoing innovations including the recent launch of Texturize!. Pantene also understands how profoundly linked a woman's hair is to her sense of self," remarked Craig Bahner, General Manager and Vice President of North American Hair Care, Procter & Gamble. "Through Pantene Beautiful Lengths, we are encouraging people to share their healthy hair to give hope to women during the greatest struggle of their lives. I'm delighted that Ms. Swank is not only donating her hair for our cause, but also acting as a great public advocate to raise awareness of the issue and inspire other people to follow her shining example."
Pantene Beautiful Lengths hair donations are made into the highest-quality wigs by campaign partner HairUWear®, the leading global producer of real-hair wigs and extensions. As they become available, the finished wigs are then distributed at no cost to cancer patients through the American Cancer Society®'s national network of wig banks. In addition to creating and distributing wigs made of real hair, Pantene is making a generous financial donation to the Women's Cancer Research Fund™, an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that is committed to saving lives by raising funds and awareness for millions of women and their families at risk of or affected by cancer.
For more information about Pantene Beautiful Lengths and ways to participate, visit www.beautifullengths.com or the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Blog http://beautifullengths.wordpress.com.
About P&G Beauty [NYSE:PG]
P&G Beauty products help make beauty dreams real and grooming enjoyable everyday for millions of women and men worldwide. With more than 100 brands available in nearly 130 countries, P&G Beauty delivered sales of more than $21 billion in fiscal year 2005/2006, making it a leading global beauty company. P&G Beauty offers trusted brands with leading technology to meet the full complement of beauty and grooming needs: Pantene®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Max Factor®, Cover Girl®, Always®, Sassoon Professional®, Wellaflex®, Rejoice®, Sebastian Professional®, Herbal Essences®, Koleston®, Clairol Professional®, Nice 'n Easy®, Venus®, Gillette®, SK-II®, Wella Professionals®, and the luxury or prestige fragrance licenses for Dolce & Gabbana®, Valentino®, Hugo®, and Gucci®. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G Beauty and its brands.
About EIF
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a philanthropic leader of the entertainment industry, raises awareness and funds for critical health, educational and social issues. EIF has a remarkable track record in raising awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. EIF's funding strategy is results-driven, bringing together some of the very best scientists and institutions in the country to collaborate on groundbreaking research projects to fast-track the development of better prevention methods and improved therapies for treatment of breast and reproductive cancers. For more information visit www.eifoundation.org.
About HairUWear
HairUWear is the leading global producer of real-hair wigs and extensions. HairUWear is taking the campaign's generous donations of hair and transforming it into comfortable, beautiful wigs that will make a world of difference for women across America who are living with cancer.
Contact:
DeVries Public Relations
Jen Celata
212.891.0498
jcelata@devries-pr.com
Elizabeth DeMuth
212.891.0476
edemuth@devries-pr.com
