Creating a brand management system was only the start of a legacy devoted to nurturing of brands by leaders who understood consumers ;1 Procter & Gamble.

Advertising Age, December, 1999 by Neff, Jack

Setting a budget for Procter & Gamble Co.'s first interactive ad campaign wasn't easy. Fortunately, the project had a big-name advocate -- Harley Procter, son of one of the founders.

Mr. Procter convinced P&G's board in 1882 to give him $11,000 for magazine and outdoor ads touting Ivory soap as "99 44/100% Pure" and inviting readers to share their experiences with the product.

That $11,000 in the 19th century would loom large in the 20th. It proved to P&G executives the power of advertising, as hundreds of responses poured into the company's Cincinnati headquarters. They would become fodder for future ads and a book that would become one of P&G's first point-of-purchase retail ads.

FIVE THAT DID IT BEST

The marketing commitment...

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