Cottonelle on a Roll With Consumers

Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle toilet paper brand has teamed with husband-and-wife reality show celebs Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott to take the pulse of Americans on a crucial issue: should toilet paper be hung so that it rolls over or under?

The partnership, which launched on Thomas Crapper Day (Jan. 27), aims to find out which method is favored by U.S. consumers. In pursuit of this information, Spelling and McDermott are encouraging couples, roommates, siblings and co-workers to choose their preference by voting either "over" or "under" at www.CottonelleRollPoll.com through March 6. The couple is split on the matter: Spelling goes for rolling over, while McDermott likes rolling under.

To find out what Americans thought about the subject in advance of the “Cottonelle Great Debate” campaign, the brand surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 to 65-plus on their toilet paper-hanging proclivities. Among the findings were:

—Half of those polled care which way the toilet paper is hanging, and one in 5 becomes annoyed when it’s hanging the “wrong” way
—Men are more apt to notice and be annoyed if it’s not to their liking
—One in five asked (19 percent) confessed to changing the way the toilet paper is hung even at someone else’s home. “Overs” are more likely to go that far, with over a quarter (27 percent) admitting to doing so
—Ease of grabbing and habit are the chief reasons those polled hang their toilet paper a certain way

“With the results of our survey in, it’s clear that we have hit a nerve with the American public,” said Cottonelle brand associate manager Cherie Kamin. “We’ve found that this is one of those topics that people feel strongly about — they often don’t express it until they’re asked. This campaign is all about people choosing how they want to roll.”

To assess the respective character traits associated people who roll over and under, as well as those who don’t care either way, Cottonelle consulted psychotherapist and relationship expert Dr. Gilda Carle. According to Dr. Carle, “overs” like taking charge, crave organization and are likely to be overachievers; “unders” are laidback and , and look for relationships with strong foundations; and “indifferents” are conflict minimizers who value flexibility and like putting themselves in new situations.

Among Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark’s highly recognizable brands are Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend.
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