Glad Products Co. has added NFL quarterback Eli Manning to its crew for Glad’s Mardi Gras sponsorship and promotions.
Glad tapped New Orleans native Manning to boost the profile of its clean-up efforts as New Orleans prepares for Mardi Gras on Feb. 28.
Glad, a joint venture between Procter & Gamble and The Clorox Co., signed on last week as the first sponsor for Mardi Gras. New Orleans has had a tough time recruiting sponsors to help fund Mardi Gras, six months after Hurricane Katrina.
Glad teams with Manning and grassroots volunteer group Katrina Krewe for a Feb. 23 clean-up blitz dubbed “the Glad ForceFlex Mardi Gras Clean-Up,” sending volunteer crews into the French Quarter with Glad ForceFlex bags. Glad also will give trash bags to festival-goers to pick up after themselves and fellow partiers; in all, Glad will donate 150,000 ForceFlex bags to the city.
That follows its fall donation of 1.2 million ForceFlex trash bags for clean up throughout the Gulf Region after Hurricane Katrina. There are 1,000 volunteers in Katrina Krewe, which was founded by New Orleans resident Becky Zaheri to remove trash from storm-struck neighborhoods every other week.
“One of the biggest drivers of our local economy is the tourism industry,” Zaheri said in a statement. “Keeping the city clean and safe during Mardi Gras is integral to welcoming visitors. The supplies and assistance from Glad will help spotlight our mission and encourage hundreds more volunteers to participate in our regular clean-ups after the big event.”
Glad was the first marketer to join the city’s new Mardi Gras Ad Support and Sponsorship Program, handled by ad club MediaBuys, North Hollywood, CA. Glad’s sponsorship fee helps offset the city’s Mardi Gras production costs. Clorox owns 80% of Oakland, CA-based Glad Products; P&G owns the other 20%.
MediaBuys and the city are still shopping for official sponsors and “supporters,” a first in the 150-year history of Mardi Gras. Sponsorship fees will fund carnival production and an advertising blitz to draw tourists.
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