In an effort to solve one of life?s greatest puzzles once and for all, Kimberly-Clark's Cottonelle brand has launched a multichannel campaign asking Americans whether toilet paper should be hung so that it rolls over or under.

The brand has teamed up with actors and real-life married couple Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott to determine how America rolls. Consumers can text their votes (UNDER or OVER) to short code 30241 to put an end to the "Great Debate" for good. Consumers can vote through March 6.

?The challenge for the Cottonelle brand was to create excitement about its mainline toilet paper in a category that consumers generally do not give a lot of thought to, let alone get excited about,? said Cherie Kamin, brand associate manager at Cottonelle, Neenah, WI.  

?Cottonelle brand toilet paper tapped into the differing opinions on the right way to roll toilet paper, bringing this national debate to life through all channels,? she said. ?We wanted to allow people to vote in many ways, and one important way was immediately through SMS after seeing the outdoor ads.?

Cottoning on
The mobile strategy aimed to facilitate conversation and engagement with the Great Debate through voting and driving users to the program site.

The Cottonelle brand used mobile to promote the debate and conversation across multiple media touch points.

High-profile outdoor placements featured the "Text Over or Under" call to action, which encouraged America to vote if they roll their toilet paper over the top or if they prefer their toilet paper to roll under when it is situated on the holder.

After the voting period has finished, users can receive the final tally announcing the winner.

Additionally, mobile banners drove users to the WAP site at http://VoteRollPoll.com, helping to facilitate the Great Debate in the mobile space.

Mindshare Chicago and Joule executed this mobile plan. Kinetic executed the outdoor media.

Here?s an example of a call to action at the bus depot on 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue in New York:

?The overall challenge is that toilet paper is a low involvement category and this is a different messaging approach, generating conversation through a fun way,? Ms. Kamin said.

?The mobile channel acted as a way of facilitating immediate response from an outdoor campaign, and the remainder of the mobile campaign served as a valuable addition to the other screens used for advertising, for example,  television and Web," she said.

?Mobile overcomes the lag time between the viewing of an ad and the ability to engage with the brand. The target can immediately interact with a campaign through mobile at any point throughout their day.

?Mobile is a great channel when the campaign is asking for a simple action, such as voting ?over? or ?under.??

On a roll
The Great Debate features the Cottonelle brand's first foray into the mobile space.

By generating votes and discussion, mobile was a perfect opportunity to connect this multichannel campaign and to enable the public to vote on-the-go. 

Although this was Cottonelle?s first mobile effort, other Kimberly-Clark brands have already made their debut in the mobile space.

In September, Kimberly-Clark launched a mobile campaign for its Huggies Pull-Ups training pants brand that is designed to help mothers potty-train their kids.

Working with Ipsh, a mobile marketing agency that?s part of Omnicom?s The Marketing Arm, Pull-Ups created a program where moms are able to text in from a call-to-action on-pack to order the potty training kits. Using their mobile phones, moms can arrange for Cinderella or a Cars character to call their phone at a designated day and time (see story).

?Mobile marketing provides opportunities to access the target in new ways and to amplify the impact of traditional campaigns,? Ms. Kamin said. ?While the outdoor media presence would have been impressive alone, mobile allowed people to instantly interact with this campaign by providing additional opportunities for engagement.

?Mobile provides the accessibility of the Internet throughout the multiple touch-points of the user's day, replacing latency with immediacy,? she said. ?Essentially, mobile brings campaigns into real-time.?

Special thanks to Rob Digioia, who snapped the picture of the call-to-action and notified Mobile Marketer of this campaign. Thanks Rob :)