Ads to wipe that smile off your face

The Diary felt a little uncomfortable when a press release purporting to be from packaged goods giant Procter & Gamble arrived in the office.

The document claimed P&G was testing a new variant of its Charmin toilet paper, carrying electronic ads – a potentially painful prospect if something went wrong with the technology – on the toilet tissue.

It even featured a quote from “bathroom marketer” Barry Oile, talking about this new bottom line in ambient advertising.

It’d take more than that for Marketing Week’s keen hacks to have the wool pulled over their eyes. The PR spiel turned out to be a hoax, but the concept made us squirm.