Procter & Gamble#Radio and television production
{{Short description|American multinational consumer goods corporation}}
{{Redirect|P&G|other uses|PG (disambiguation){{!}}PG}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = The Procter & Gamble Company
| logo = Procter & Gamble logo.svg
| logo_caption = Secondary logo since 2013, concurrently used with the 2002 lettermark
| logo_size = 150px
| image = Cincinnati-procter-and-gamble-headquarters.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio
| trade_name = P&G
| type = Public
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|{{NYSE|PG}}|DJIA component|S&P 100 component|S&P 500 component}}
| industry = {{Unbulleted list|Consumer goods|Household products}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|1837|10|31}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|William Procter|James Gamble}}
| hq_location = 1 Procter and Gamble Plaza
| hq_location_city = Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|Jon R. Moeller|(chairman, president and CEO)}}
| products = {{hlist|Cleaning agents|skin care|personal care|dietary supplements}}
| brands = See list of Procter & Gamble brands
| revenue = {{increase}} {{USD|84.04 billion|link=yes}} (2024)
| operating_income = {{increase}} {{USD|18.55 billion}} (2024)
| net_income = {{increase}} {{USD|14.88 billion}} (2024)
| assets = {{increase}} {{USD|122.4 billion}} (2024)
| equity = {{increase}} {{USD|50.56 billion}} (2024)
| num_employees = 108,000
| num_employees_year = 2024
| subsid = {{ubl|Procter & Gamble Korea|Procter & Gamble Pakistan|Procter & Gamble Philippines|Procter & Gamble Australia Pty. Ltd.|Braun}}
| homepage = {{URL|https://pg.com/}}
| footnotes = Financials {{as of|2024|06|30|lc=y|df=US|pre=fiscal year ended}}.
References:{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/80424/000008042424000083/pg-20240630.htm |title=P&G Co. FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=August 5, 2024 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}
}}
{{multiple image
|header =
|align = right
|direction = vertical
|total_width = 175
|image1 = P&G Logo 2001.svg
|caption1 = Logo used from 1992 to 2002.
|image2 = P&G logo.svg
|caption2= Primary logo used since 2002 on P&G branded products, formerly used as a corporate logo until 2013.
}}
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio,{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Procter-and-Gamble-Company | title=Procter & Gamble Company | Consumer goods, Household products, Global market | Britannica | date=January 18, 2024 }} founded in 1837{{Cite web |title=Procter & Gamble {{!}} PG Stock Price, Company Overview & News |url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/procter-gamble/ |access-date=January 30, 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}} by William Procter and James Gamble.{{Cite web |title=History of innovation |url=http://us.pg.com/who_we_are/heritage/history_of_innovation |website=Procter & Gamble |access-date=February 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215142259/http://us.pg.com/who_we_are/heritage/history_of_innovation |archive-date=February 15, 2016 |url-status=dead}} It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer health, personal care and hygiene products; these products are organized into several segments including beauty; grooming; health care; fabric and home care; and baby, feminine, and family care. Before the sale of Pringles and Duracell to Kellogg's and Berkshire Hathaway, respectively, its product portfolio also included food, snacks, beverages, and batteries.{{cite news |url=http://news.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1177884&srvc=next_article |title=Procter & Gamble board meets amid CEO reports |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Boston Herald |date=June 9, 2009 |access-date=May 5, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} P&G is incorporated in Ohio.{{cite web | website=10-K | url = https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/80424/8042418000055/0000080424-18-000055-index.htm | title = 10-K | access-date = June 1, 2019 | ref = {{harvid|10-K|2018}}}}
In 2014, P&G recorded $83.1 billion in sales. On August 1, 2014, P&G announced it was streamlining the company, dropping and selling off around 100 brands from its product portfolio in order to focus on the remaining 65 brands,{{cite news |last1=Coolidge |first1=Alexander |title=P&G brand sales, restructuring will cut jobs up to 19% |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/07/09/pg-spins-off-covergirl-wella-and-fragrance/29903547/ |access-date=March 3, 2016 |newspaper=Cincinnati Enquirer |date=July 10, 2015}} which produced 95% of the company's profits. A.G. Lafley, the company's chairman and CEO until October 2015, said the future P&G would be "a much simpler, much less complex company of leading brands that's easier to manage and operate".{{cite news |title=Around 100 brands to be dropped by Procter and Gamble to boost sales |url=http://www.cincinnatinews.net/index.php/sid/224358103/scat/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/ht/Around-100-brands-to-be-dropped-by-Procter-and-Gamble-to-boost-sales |access-date=August 2, 2014 |website=Cincinnati News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808055326/http://www.cincinnatinews.net/index.php/sid/224358103/scat/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/ht/Around-100-brands-to-be-dropped-by-Procter-and-Gamble-to-boost-sales |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |url-status=dead}} In 2023, the company was ranked 55th in the Forbes Global 2000.{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/global2000/?sh=51d599675ac0|title=The Global 2000 2023|website=Forbes|access-date=February 7, 2024|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129031905/https://www.forbes.com/lists/global2000/?sh=4f5ab07e5ac0}}
Jon Moeller is the chairman, president and CEO of P&G since 2021.{{cite web | last=Mangan | first=Dan | title=Procter & Gamble names Jon Moeller as new CEO, will replace current chief David Taylor in November | website=CNBC | date=July 29, 2021 | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/procter-gamble-names-jon-moeller-as-its-new-ceo-replacing-david-taylor-effective-november.html | access-date=December 25, 2021}}
History
= Origins =
Candlemaker William Procter, born in England, and soap maker James Gamble, born in Ireland, both emigrated to the US from the United Kingdom. They initially settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and met when they married sisters Olivia and Elizabeth Norris.{{cite book |last1=Dyer |first1=Davis |first2=Frederick |last2=Dalzell |first3=Rowena |last3=Olegario |title=Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble |publisher=Harvard Business School Press |year=2004 |isbn=1-59139-147-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/risingtide00davi}} Alexander Norris, their father-in-law, persuaded them to become business partners, and in 1837, Procter & Gamble was created.
From 1858 to 1859, sales reached $1 million. By that point, about 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War, the company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles. In addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gamble's products.
In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, an inexpensive soap that floated in water.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/protor-gamble-makes-everything-2011-2|title=How Procter & Gamble Became The Maker Of EVERYTHING You Buy For Your House|last=Horowitz|first=Alana|website=Business Insider|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010185635/https://www.businessinsider.com/protor-gamble-makes-everything-2011-2|archive-date=October 10, 2019|url-status=live}} The company called the soap Ivory. William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, began a profit-sharing program for the company's workforce in 1887. By giving the workers a stake in the company, he correctly assumed that they would be less likely to go on strike.
The company began to build factories in other locations in the United States because the demand for products had outgrown the capacity of the Cincinnati facilities. The company's leaders began to diversify its products as well, and in 1911 the company began producing Crisco, a shortening made of vegetable oils rather than animal fats.
Beginning in the 1880s, P&G advertised its wares in full-page advertisements in many general-interest magazines. By 1921, it had become a major international corporation with a diversified line of soaps, toiletries, and food products; in that year, its annual advertising budget reached $1 million. In the 1920s, P&G advertised its products on the new medium of radio and, from 1932 forward, was one of the biggest sponsors of daytime serials, which soon acquired the nickname of soap operas.{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Robert C. |title=Speaking of Soap Operas |date=1985 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, N. C. |isbn=0807841293 |pages=107–110, 115–116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2zGpxIGUGsC |access-date=July 11, 2021}} In the television era, P&G sponsored and produced some twenty soap operas across six decades before the last of its shows ended in 2010.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html |title=CBS Cancels As the World Turns, Procter & Gamble's Last Soap Opera |work=The New York Times|date=December 9, 2009|access-date=September 17, 2010 | first1=Bill | last1=Carter | first2=Brian | last2=Stelter}}
= International expansion =
The company moved into other countries, both in terms of manufacturing and product sales, becoming an international corporation with its 1930 acquisition of the Thomas Hedley Co., based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. After this acquisition, Procter & Gamble had their UK Headquarters at Hedley House in Newcastle upon Tyne, until quite recently, when they moved to The Heights, Brooklands. Numerous new products and brand names were introduced over time, and Procter & Gamble began branching out into new areas. The company introduced Tide laundry detergent in 1946,{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124946926161107433|title=Tide Turns 'Basic' for P&G in Slump|last=Byron|first=Ellen|date=August 7, 2009|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=October 10, 2019|issn=0099-9660|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010185636/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124946926161107433|archive-date=October 10, 2019|url-status=live}} Prell shampoo in 1947{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/06/business/company-news-procter-gamble-considers-selling-its-prell-brand.html|title=Company News; Procter & Gamble Considers Selling Its Prell Brand|agency=Reuters|date=May 6, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 10, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010185638/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/06/business/company-news-procter-gamble-considers-selling-its-prell-brand.html|archive-date=October 10, 2019|url-status=live}} and Joy, the first liquid synthetic detergent in 1949. In 1955, Procter & Gamble began selling the first toothpaste to contain fluoride, known as Crest. Branching out once again in 1957, the company purchased paper mills from Charmin and began manufacturing toilet paper and other tissue paper products. Once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making Downy-branded fabric softener in 1960 and Bounce fabric softener sheets in 1972.{{cite web |url=http://www.pg.com/productsafety/ingredients/household_care/laundary_fabric_care/Bounce/Bounce_Dryer_Sheets_-_All_Varieties.pdf |title=Bounce Dryer Sheets |website=Procter & Gamble |access-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204044432/http://www.pg.com/productsafety/ingredients/household_care/laundary_fabric_care/Bounce/Bounce_Dryer_Sheets_-_All_Varieties.pdf |archive-date=December 4, 2016 |url-status=live}} From 1957 to 1968, Procter & Gamble owned Clorox, the leading American manufacturer of liquid bleach; however, the Federal Trade Commission challenged the acquisition, and the U.S. Supreme Court decided against P&G in April 1967.FTC v. Procter & Gamble Co., {{ussc|386|568}}.
One of the most revolutionary products to come out on the market was the company's disposable Pampers diaper, first test-marketed in 1961, the same year Procter & Gamble came out with Head & Shoulders.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/risingtide00davi |url-access=registration |quote=william a procter president. | title=Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter and Gamble |publisher=Harvard Business Press |date=May 1, 2004 | access-date=March 4, 2016 |last=Dyer|first=Davis |page=[https://archive.org/details/risingtide00davi/page/423 423] |display-authors=etal| isbn=9781591391470}} Prior to this point, disposable diapers were not popular, although Johnson & Johnson had developed a product called Chux. Babies always wore cloth diapers, which were leaky and labor-intensive to wash. Pampers provided a convenient alternative, albeit at the environmental cost of more waste requiring landfilling. Amid the recent concerns parents have voiced on the ingredients in diapers, Pampers launched Pampers Pure collection in 2018, which is a "natural" diaper alternative.{{Cite news|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180222006020/en/Goodbye-Compromise-Pampers-Pure-Protection-Works|title=Say Goodbye to Compromise, Say Hello to Pampers Pure Protection That Works|access-date=October 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001182406/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180222006020/en/Goodbye-Compromise-Pampers-Pure-Protection-Works|archive-date=October 1, 2018|url-status=live}}
= Further developments =
Procter & Gamble acquired a number of other companies that diversified its product line and significantly increased profits. These acquisitions included Folgers Coffee, Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals (the makers of Pepto-Bismol), Richardson-Vicks, Noxell (Noxzema), Shulton's Old Spice, Max Factor, the Iams Company, and Pantene, among others. In 1994, the company made headlines for big losses resulting from leveraged positions in interest rate derivatives, and subsequently sued Bankers Trust for fraud; this placed their management in the unusual position of testifying in court that they had entered into transactions that they were not capable of understanding. In 1996, P&G again made headlines when the Food and Drug Administration approved a new product developed by the company, Olestra. Also known by its brand name 'Olean', Olestra is a lower-calorie substitute for fat in cooking potato chips and other snacks.
In January 2005, P&G announced the acquisition of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company and placing Unilever into second place.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/01/28/news/fortune500/pg_gillette/ |title=P&G to buy Gillette in $57B stock deal |date=January 28, 2005 |first=Chris |last=Isidore |website=CNN Money |access-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015155936/http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/28/news/fortune500/pg_gillette/ |archive-date=October 15, 2017 |url-status=live}} This added brands such as Gillette razors, Duracell, Braun, and Oral-B to their stable. The acquisition was approved by the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission, with conditions to a spinoff of certain overlapping brands. P&G agreed to sell its SpinBrush battery-operated electric toothbrush business to Church & Dwight,{{cite news|last1=Berman|first1=Dennis K.|last2=Ellison|first2=Sarah|title=P&G Plans to Sell SpinBrush Unit To Advance Merger|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB112666741099640161|access-date=March 4, 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=September 14, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307051448/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB112666741099640161|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}} and Gillette's Rembrandt toothpaste line to Johnson & Johnson.{{cite news|title=P&G sells Rembrandt to Johnson & Johnson|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/10/24/daily6.html|access-date=March 4, 2016|newspaper=Cincinnati Business Journals|date=October 24, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108043622/http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/10/24/daily6.html|archive-date=November 8, 2016|url-status=live}} The deodorant brands Right Guard, Soft and Dri, and Dry Idea were sold to Dial Corporation.{{cite web |title=Dial Agrees to Buy P&G Deodorant Brands |date=February 21, 2006 |first=Constance |last=Wherrity |website=Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York blog |url=http://www.piercemattie.com/blogs/2006/02/dial_agrees_to_buy_pg_deodoran.html |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501084954/http://www.piercemattie.com/blogs/2006/02/dial_agrees_to_buy_pg_deodoran.html |archive-date=May 1, 2012 |url-status=live}} In 2001, Liquid Paper and Gillette's stationery division, Paper Mate, were sold to Newell Rubbermaid. The companies officially merged on October 1, 2005. In 2008, P&G branched into the record business with its sponsorship of Tag Records, as an endorsement for TAG Body Spray.{{cite web |url=http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/07/10/brand-advisory.aspx |title=P&G Must Proceed With Caution |website=Marketing Doctor Blog |date=July 10, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410104012/http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/07/10/brand-advisory.aspx |archive-date=April 10, 2012}}
P&G's dominance in many categories of consumer products makes its brand management decisions worthy of study.{{According to whom|date=June 2023}}{{cite web|url=http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/06/06/dr-tantillos-30second-how-to.aspx |title=How To Learn From GE and P&G When The World Is About To Change |website=Marketing Doctor Blog |date=June 6, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622005938/http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/06/06/dr-tantillos-30second-how-to.aspx |archive-date=June 22, 2012}} For example, P&G's corporate strategists must account for the likelihood of one of their products cannibalizing the sales of another.{{cite news|last=Horstman |first=Barry M |title=John G. Smale: He rebuilt P&G – and city, too |date=October 11, 2005 |newspaper=The Cincinnati Post |url=http://www.cincypost.com/living/1999/smale101199.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405123913/http://www.cincypost.com/living/1999/smale101199.html |archive-date=April 5, 2005}}
On August 25, 2009, the Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott announced they had bought P&G's prescription-drug business for $3.1 billion.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125111032092353427 |title=Warner Chilcott to pay $3.1 for P&G's drug business |first1=Anjali |last1=Cordieiro |first2=Peter |last2=Loftus |date=August 25, 2009 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125134712/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125111032092353427 |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}
P&G exited the food business in 2012 when it sold its Pringles snack food business to Kellogg's for $2.75 billion after the $2.35 billion deal with former suitor Diamond Foods fell short.{{cite web |url=http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Suppliers2/P-G-sells-Pringles-to-Kellogg-after-Diamond-deal-loses-its-luster |title=P&G sells Pringles to Kellog after Diamond deal loses its luster |first=Elaine |last=Watson |date=February 15, 2012 |website=The Food Navigator |access-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722092308/http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Suppliers2/P-G-sells-Pringles-to-Kellogg-after-Diamond-deal-loses-its-luster |archive-date=July 22, 2013 |url-status=live}} The company had previously sold Jif peanut butter, Crisco shortening and oils, and Folgers coffee in separate transactions to fellow Ohio-based company Smucker's.
In April 2014, the company sold its Iams pet food business in all markets excluding Europe to Mars, Inc. for $2.9 billion.{{cite web|last1=Wahba|first1=Phil|title=P&G selling pet food brands to Mars for $2.9 billion|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mars-pgpetcare-acquisition-idUSBREA3811O20140409|access-date=March 4, 2016|website=Reuters|date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305024933/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mars-pgpetcare-acquisition-idUSBREA3811O20140409|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}} It sold the European Iams business to Spectrum Brands in December 2014.{{cite web|title=Spectrum Brands Holdings Completes Acquisition of the European IAMS and Eukanuba Pet Food Business|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141231005340/en/Spectrum-Brands-Holdings-Completes-Acquisition-European-IAMS|access-date=March 4, 2016|website=Business Wire|date=December 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422052736/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141231005340/en/Spectrum-Brands-Holdings-Completes-Acquisition-European-IAMS|archive-date=April 22, 2016|url-status=live}}
= Restructuring =
In August 2014, P&G announced it was streamlining the company, dropping around 100 brands and concentrating on the remaining 65, which were producing 95% of the company's profits.
In March 2015, the company divested its Vicks VapoSteam U.S. liquid inhalant business to Helen of Troy, part of a brand-restructuring operation. This deal was the first health-related divestiture under the brand-restructuring operation. The deal included a fully paid-up license to the Vicks VapoSteam trademarks and the U.S. license of P&G's Vicks VapoPad trademarks for scent pads. Most Vicks VapoSteam and VapoPads are used in Vicks humidifiers, vaporizers and other health care devices already marketed by Helen of Troy.{{cite web|last1=Coolidge|first1=Alexander|title=P&G sells health brand|url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/03/31/pg-sells-health-brand/70751156/|website=Cincinnati.com|access-date=April 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125134712/http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/03/31/pg-sells-health-brand/70751156/|archive-date=January 25, 2016|url-status=live}}
Later that same year in July, the company announced the sale of 43 of its beauty brands to Coty, a beauty-product manufacturer, in a US$13 billion deal. It cited sluggish growth of its beauty division as the reason for the divestiture.{{cite web|last1=Oyedele|first1=Akin|title=Procter & Gamble just sold 43 of its brands for $12.5 billion|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/procter-and-gamble-merging-43-brands-with-coty-2015-7|website=Business Insider|date=July 9, 2015|access-date=July 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710102743/http://www.businessinsider.com/procter-and-gamble-merging-43-brands-with-coty-2015-7|archive-date=July 10, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Ng|first1=Serena|last2=Dulaney|first2=Chelsey|title=Procter & Gamble Agrees to Sell Beauty Brands|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/procter-gamble-agrees-to-sell-beauty-businesses-1436444762|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=July 9, 2015|date=July 9, 2015|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710074221/http://www.wsj.com/articles/procter-gamble-agrees-to-sell-beauty-businesses-1436444762|archive-date=July 10, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=P&G confirms names of all 43 brands sold to Coty |url=http://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/PG_confirms_names_of_all_43_brands_sold_to_Coty/110199 |access-date=March 4, 2016 |website=Cosmetics Business |date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310130317/http://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/PG_confirms_names_of_all_43_brands_sold_to_Coty/110199 |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |url-status=live}} The sale was completed on October 3, 2016.{{cite web|title=Coty Completes Merger with P&G Specialty Beauty Business|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161002005073/en/Coty-Completes-Merger-PG-Specialty-Beauty-Business|access-date=October 27, 2016|website=Business Wire|date=October 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112032814/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161002005073/en/Coty-Completes-Merger-PG-Specialty-Beauty-Business|archive-date=November 12, 2016|url-status=live}}
In February 2016, P&G completed the transfer of Duracell to Berkshire Hathaway through an exchange of shares.{{cite web|last1=Coolidge|first1=Alexander|title=Duracell leaves P&G fold|url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2016/03/01/duracell-leaves-pg-fold/81143732/|access-date=March 2, 2016|website=Cincinnati.com|date=March 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402151032/https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2016/03/01/duracell-leaves-pg-fold/81143732/|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=live}}
In December 2018, Procter & Gamble completed the acquisition of the consumer health division of Merck Group (known as EMD Serono in North America) for €3.4 billion ($4.2 billion) and renamed it as Procter & Gamble Health Limited in May 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://pharmaphorum.com/news/pg-completes-acquisition-merck-kgaas-otc-division/|title=P&G completes acquisition of Merck KGaA's OTC division -|last=Underwood|first=George|date=December 3, 2018|website=pharmaphorum.com|access-date=December 6, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/p-g-renames-merck-as-procter-gamble-health-ltd-1557211127259.html|title=P&G renames Merck Limited as Procter & Gamble Health Ltd|last=Thacker|first=Teena|date=May 7, 2019|website=Mint|access-date=December 6, 2019}}
In November 2018, P&G unveiled a simpler corporate structure with six business units that will be effective from July 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-strategy-idUSKCN1ND37M|title=P&G restructures operations, creates six business units|newspaper=Reuters|date=November 8, 2018|via=www.reuters.com|access-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124203551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-strategy-idUSKCN1ND37M|archive-date=January 24, 2019|url-status=live}}
In 2023, the company began optimizing its product offering. As part of this strategy, it plans to eliminate the bottom 25% of SKUs, which contribute very little to absolute retail sales. According to other comparable companies, a similar share of SKUs represents between 2% and 2.5% of its turnover at a global level.{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/procter-gamble-s-latest-earnings-show-brand-power-might-be-returning|title=Procter & Gamble's latest earnings show brand power might be returning|website=Supermarket News|date=July 31, 2023 |access-date=February 26, 2024|archive-date=July 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731203700/https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/procter-gamble-s-latest-earnings-show-brand-power-might-be-returning}}{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://consumergoods.com/pg-trimming-skus-part-collaborative-commerce-strategy|title=P&G Trimming SKUs As Part of Collaborative Commerce Strategy|website=CGT|date=July 28, 2023 |access-date=February 26, 2024|archive-date=July 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731203848/https://consumergoods.com/pg-trimming-skus-part-collaborative-commerce-strategy}}
Finances
For the fiscal year 2018, Procter & Gamble reported earnings of US$9.750 billion, with an annual revenue of US$66.832 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. The company's shares traded at over $86 per share in 2017, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$221.5 billion in October 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pginvestor.com/CustomPage/Index?KeyGenPage=1073748359|title=Annual Reports {{!}} P&G|website=www.pginvestor.com|access-date=November 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107185338/http://www.pginvestor.com/CustomPage/Index?KeyGenPage=1073748359|archive-date=November 7, 2018|url-status=live}} The company ranked No. 42 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
class="wikitable float-left" style="text-align: right;"
!Year !Revenue !Net income !Total assets !Employees |
2005
|56,741 |6,923 |61,527 | |
2006
|68,222 |8,684 |135,695 | |
2007
|74,832 |10,340 |138,014 | |
2008
|79,257 |12,075 |143,992 | |
2009
|76,694 |13,436 |134,833 |135,000 |
2010
|78,938 |12,517 |128,172 |127,000 |
2011
|82,559 |11,564 |138,354 |129,000 |
2012
|83,680 |10,500 |132,244 |126,000 |
2013
|84,167 |11,068 |139,263 |121,000 |
2014
|83,062 |11,390 |144,266 |118,000 |
2015
|76,279 | 6,777 |129,495 |110,000 |
2016
|65,299 |10,508 |127,136 |105,000 |
2017
|65,058 |15,326 |120,406 |95,000 |
2018
|66,832 |9,750 |118,310 |92,000 |
2019
|67,684 |3,897 |115,095 |97,000 |
2020
|70,950 |12,764 |120,700 |99,000 |
2021
|76,118 |14,035 |119,307 |101,000 |
2022
|81,286 |15,306 |117,914 |103,000 |
2023
|82,006 |14,653 |120,829 |107,000 |
2024
|84,039 |14,879 |122,370 |108,000 |
Operations
{{As of|df=US|2=July|3=1|1=2016}}, the company structure has been categorized into ten categories and six selling and market organizations.
{{columns-list|colwidth=21em|
- Categories
- Baby Care
- Fabric Care
- Family Care
- Feminine Care
- Grooming
- Hair Care
- Home Care
- Oral Care
- Personal Health Care
- Skin and Personal Care
- Selling and Market Organizations
- Asia Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa (AMA)
- Europe
- Greater China
- Latin America
- North America
}}
= Management and staff =
== Board of directors ==
{{As of|2025|2}} the board of directors of Procter & Gamble has 14 members:{{cite web |title=Board Composition |url=https://us.pg.com/board-of-directors/ |access-date=March 5, 2024 |website=Procter & Gamble}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=28em|
- B. Marc Allen
- Brett Biggs
- Sheila Bonini
- Amy L. Chang
- Joseph Jimenez
- Christopher Kempczinski
- Debra L. Lee
- Terry J. Lundgren
- Christine McCarthy
- Ashley McEvoy
- Jon R. Moeller
- Rob Portman
- Raj Subramaniam
- Patricia A. Woertz
}}
Previous members of the board include:
In May 2011, Fortune editor-at-large Patricia Sellers praised P&G's board diversity, as five of the company's 11 directors were female and had all been on Fortune
In March 2011, Rajat Gupta resigned from the board after an SEC accusation of Galleon Group insider trading.{{cite press release |url=http://www.pg.com/en_US/news_views/blog_posts/2011/mar/rajat_gupta.shtml |title=P&G Views |publisher=Procter & Gamble |date=March 1, 2011 |access-date=February 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305034730/http://www.pg.com/en_US/news_views/blog_posts/2011/mar/rajat_gupta.shtml |archive-date=March 5, 2011}}
In May 2013, Robert A. McDonald announced his retirement and was replaced by A.G. Lafley, who returned as chairman, president, and CEO.{{cite press release |url=http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/ag-lafley-rejoins-procter-gamble-chairman-president-and-chi |title=A.G. Lafley Rejoins Procter & Gamble as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer |publisher=Procter & Gamble |date=May 23, 2013 |access-date=May 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607185519/http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/ag-lafley-rejoins-procter-gamble-chairman-president-and-chi |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |url-status=live}}
Procter & Gamble is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a Washington, DC–based coalition of over 400 major companies and NGOs that advocates for a larger international affairs budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad.{{cite web |url=http://www.usglc.org/about/our-coalition |title=Global Trust members |website=U.S. Global Leadership Coalition |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727214451/http://www.usglc.org/about/our-coalition/ |archive-date=July 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}
== Senior executives ==
- Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer{{snd}}Jon R. Moeller
- Chief Operating Officer{{snd}}Shailesh G. Jejurikar
= Employer recognition =
Fortune magazine awarded P&G a top spot on its list of "Global Top Companies for Leaders", and ranked the company at 15th place of the "World's Most Admired Companies" list.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2013/list/?iid=wma_sp_full |title=Fortune's List of World's Most Admired Companies |website=CNN Money |date=August 7, 2013 |access-date=August 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808235056/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2013/list/?iid=wma_sp_full |archive-date=August 8, 2013 |url-status=live}} Chief Executive magazine named P&G the best overall company for leadership development in its list of the "40 Best Companies for Leaders".
In October 2008, P&G was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, P&G was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.{{cite web |url=http://www.eluta.ca/top-employer-procter-%26-gamble |title=Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition |website=eluta.ca |access-date=January 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206221415/http://www.eluta.ca/top-employer-procter-%26-gamble |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |url-status=live}}
In October 2013, the company was named the fourth-most in-demand employer in the world according to analytic data sourced by LinkedIn.{{cite web|url=http://www.linkedin.com/indemand/|title=North America's Most InDemand Employers: 2014|website=Linkedin.com}}
In August 2013, P&G was named the 14th-hardest company to interview for by Glassdoor.{{cite web |url=http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoors-top-25-difficult-companies-interview-2013/ |title=Glassdoor's Top 25 Most Difficult Companies To Interview (2013) |website=Glassdoor Blog |access-date=March 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421105919/http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoors-top-25-difficult-companies-interview-2013/ |archive-date=April 21, 2014 |url-status=live}} In November 2013, Glassdoor also named them as a top 25 company for career opportunities.{{cite web |url=http://www.glassdoor.com/Top-Companies-for-Career-Opportunities-LST_KQ0,38.htm |title=Top 25 Companies for Career Opportunities |website=Glassdoor |access-date=March 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327222231/http://www.glassdoor.com/Top-Companies-for-Career-Opportunities-LST_KQ0,38.htm |archive-date=March 27, 2014 |url-status=live}} In February 2014, Glassdoor placed P&G 34th on their annual Best Places to Work list.{{cite web|url=http://www.glassdoor.com/Best-Places-to-Work-LST_KQ0,19.htm|title=Best Places to Work|website=Glassdoor|access-date=March 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807195154/http://www.glassdoor.com/Best-Places-to-Work-LST_KQ0,19.htm|archive-date=August 7, 2011|url-status=live}}
In November 2014, P&G came out publicly in support of same-sex marriage in a statement made by William Gipson, P&G's chief global diversity officer.{{cite web |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/11/18/pg-supports-gay-marriage/19226479/ |title=P&G publicly supports same-sex marriage |first=Alexander |last=Coolidge |date=November 19, 2014 |website=Cincinnati.com |quote=For the first time in its history, Procter & Gamble is openly supporting same-sex marriage. The Cincinnati-based consumer products giant says it embraced gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees for more than 20 years. Now, the company says same-sex marriage has become an important enough issue to its workers that it is taking a public stand. |access-date=January 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125134712/http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/11/18/pg-supports-gay-marriage/19226479/ |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}
In November 2015, P&G was named the Careers in Africa Employer of Choice 2015 following a survey of over 13,000 African professionals from across the globe. P&G was also recognized as the most desirable FMCG business to work for in Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.careersinafrica.com/blog/2015-careers-in-africa-employer-of-choice-awards/ |title=2015 Careers in Africa Employer of Choice Awards |first=Alexander |last=Mugan |date=December 2, 2015 |website=CareersInAfrica.com |quote=The results of the inaugural Careers in Africa Employer of Choice Study, in association with Towers Watson, drawn from more than 13,000 survey responses by African professionals representing every market on the continent, have been revealed. |access-date=February 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324160852/http://www.careersinafrica.com/blog/2015-careers-in-africa-employer-of-choice-awards/ |archive-date=March 24, 2016 |url-status=live}}
P&G was recognized as one of Forbes World's Most Reputable Companies in 2016, 2017, and 2023.{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2016/03/22/the-worlds-most-reputable-companies-2016/#30b5cb6f2338 |title=The World's Most Reputable Companies, 2016 |last=Strauss |first=Karsten |website=Forbes |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321064802/https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2016/03/22/the-worlds-most-reputable-companies-2016/#30b5cb6f2338 |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2017/02/28/the-worlds-most-reputable-companies-in-2017/#3de328f12fe3 |title=The World's Most Reputable Companies In 2017 |last=Strauss |first=Karsten |website=Forbes |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063808/https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2017/02/28/the-worlds-most-reputable-companies-in-2017/#3de328f12fe3 |archive-date=March 21, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/10/11/p-g-forbes-worlds-best-employers.html|author=Andy Brownfield|date=October 11, 2023|title=Procter & Gamble makes Forbes' World's Best Employers list for 2023|work=Cincinnati Business Courier}}
=Brands=
{{Main list|list of Procter & Gamble brands}}
As of 2015, 21 of P&G's brands have more than a billion dollars in net annual sales.{{cite news |last1=Kalogeropoulos |first1=Demitrios |title=The Procter & Gamble Company's Best Product in 2015 |url=http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/12/27/the-procter-gamble-companys-best-product-in-2015.aspx |access-date=March 3, 2016 |website=The Motley Fool |date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302001253/http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/12/27/the-procter-gamble-companys-best-product-in-2015.aspx |archive-date=March 2, 2016 |url-status=live}} Most of these brands{{snd}}including Bounty, Crest, Always, and Tide{{snd}}are global products available on several continents. In 2005, Procter & Gamble made a $57 billion deal to buy Gillette, which combined some of the world's top brands including, signature razors, Duracell batteries, Braun, and Oral-B brands.{{Citation |last=Kumar |first=B. Rajesh |title=Procter & Gamble's Acquisition of Gillette |date=November 30, 2018 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02363-8_28 |work=Wealth Creation in the World's Largest Mergers and Acquisitions |series=Management for Professionals |pages=243–250 |access-date=September 7, 2023 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-02363-8_28 |isbn=978-3-030-02362-1|s2cid=169662286}} P&G's products are available in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
In 2018, P&G's fabric and home care division accounted for 32% of the company's total net sales, the highest of all its divisions. The division includes Downy, Gain, Tide, Febreze, and Dawn.{{cite web|title=P&G at a glance|url=http://www.pginvestor.com/PG-at-a-Glance/Index?KeyGenPage=1073748355|website=Procter & Gamble|access-date=December 19, 2018|date=2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308082215/http://www.pginvestor.com/PG-at-a-Glance/Index?KeyGenPage=1073748355|archive-date=March 8, 2016|url-status=live}}
According to Advertising Age, Procter & Gamble spent $4.3 billion advertising their various brands in the United States in 2015, making it the top advertiser in the country.{{cite news |last=Brunsman |first=Barrett J. |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/30/three-cincinnati-companies-among-largest.html |title=Three Cincinnati companies among largest advertisers in U.S. |newspaper=Cincinnati Business Courier |publisher=American City Business Journals |date=June 30, 2016 |access-date=June 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816040620/http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/30/three-cincinnati-companies-among-largest.html |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |url-status=live}}
Manufacturing operations are based in these countries:
{{colbegin|colwidth=15em}}
- {{USA}}
- {{CAN}}
- {{MEX}}
- {{PHI}}
- {{HUN}}
- {{ARG}}
- {{VNM}}
- {{IDN}}
- {{ROU}}
- {{GBR}}
- {{FRA}}
- {{UKR}}
- {{ESP}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pgcareers.com/global/en/locations/spain|title=Jobs in Spain|publisher=Procter & Gamble|language=en|access-date=April 24, 2024}}
- {{DEU}}
- {{POL}}{{cite web |url=http://ce.pgcareers.com/pg-in-central-europe/plants-in-polandfabryki-w-polsce/ |title=Procter & Gamble – Plants in Poland/Fabryki W Polsce |website=P&G Careers.com |access-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026214330/http://ce.pgcareers.com/pg-in-central-europe/plants-in-polandfabryki-w-polsce |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |url-status=dead}}
- {{CZE}}{{cite web |url=https://pg.jobs.cz/|title=Úvod|publisher=Procter & Gamble|language=cs|access-date=June 28, 2021}}
- {{RUS}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pg.com/ru_RU/company/pg_russia/index.shtml |title=P&G в России – Компания |website=P&G |access-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829005457/http://www.pg.com/ru_RU/company/pg_russia/index.shtml |archive-date=August 29, 2016 |url-status=live}}
- {{KSA}}
- {{UAE}}
- {{AUS}}
- {{NZL}}
- {{BRA}}
- {{AUT}}{{cite web |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/today/companies/munda-pundg-to-buy-mercks-consumer-health-division-for-3-4-billion/23581896.html?ticket=ST-50153250-CGFvrbbfIxDApdjmGxM6-ap6 |title=P&G to buy Merck's consumer health division for €3.4 billion |work=Handelsblatt |last=Dobush |first=Grace |date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=July 30, 2021}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
- {{JAP}}
- {{IND}}{{cite web |url=http://news.pg.com/blog/hyderabad |title=Our New Hyderabad Plant Is Off to a Remarkable Start |website=P&G News |date=October 22, 2014 |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529160629/http://news.pg.com/blog/hyderabad |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |url-status=live}}
- {{CHN}}
- {{KOR}}
- {{PAK}}{{cite web |title=P&G celebrates 25 years of successful operations in Pakistan |url=https://www.pg.com/en_PK/news/pr_pg_Pakistan25years.shtml |website=P&G |date=September 5, 2016 |access-date=September 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923183132/https://www.pg.com/en_PK/news/pr_pg_Pakistan25years.shtml |archive-date=September 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}
- {{EGY}}
- {{RSA}}
- {{NGR}}{{cite web |title=New P&G Plant Opens in Nigeria |url=http://news.pg.com/blog/company-strategy/nigeria-plant |website=P&G |access-date=April 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307190853/http://news.pg.com/blog/company-strategy/nigeria-plant |archive-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=live}}
- {{JOR}}
- {{TUN}}
- {{TUR}}{{cite web |title=P&G Turkey |url=https://www.pgcareers.com/location-Turkey |website=P&G |access-date=December 7, 2020}}
- {{LIB}}
- {{MAR}}
- {{THA}}
{{colend}}
= Competitive innovation =
In the 2024 review of WIPO's annual World Intellectual Property Indicators Procter & Gamble ranked 2nd in the world, with 525 designs in industrial design registrations being published under the Hague System during 2023.{{Cite web |title=Hague Yearly Review 2024 |url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-930-2024-en-hague-yearly-review-2024.pdf |website=wipo.int}}
= Radio and television production =
Procter & Gamble produced and sponsored the first radio serial dramas in the 1930s. As the company was known for Ivory soap, the serials became known as "soap operas". With the rise of television in the 1950s and 1960s, most of the new serials were sponsored, produced and owned (20 series) by the company (including The Guiding Light, which had begun as a radio serial, and made the transition to television lasting 72 years).{{cite news|title=CBS Cancels As the World Turns, Procter & Gamble's Last Soap Opera|first1=Bill|last1=Carter|first2=Brian|last2=Stelter|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 9, 2009|access-date=September 17, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619170342/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html|archive-date=June 19, 2011|url-status=live}} The end of As the World Turns in 2010 resulted in the company’s absence from the soap opera genre for almost fifteen years, which lasted until Beyond the Gates (a co-production with CBS Studios and the NAACP) premiered on CBS in 2025.{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Errol |title=Procter & Gamble On Daytime Television Return: "We Invented The Soap Opera" |url=https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2025/02/procter-gamble-we-invented-the-soap-opera-beyond-the-gates |website=Soap Opera Network |date=February 16, 2025 |access-date=26 February 2025}} The Young and the Restless, produced by Sony Pictures Television and also broadcast on CBS, is also partially sponsored by Procter & Gamble.
These past serials were produced by Procter & Gamble:
{{colbegin|colwidth=22em}}
- Another World
- As the World Turns
- The Brighter Day
- The Catlins
- The Edge of Night
- The First Hundred Years
- From These Roots
- Guiding Light
- Lovers and Friends / For Richer, for Poorer
- Our Private World
- Search for Tomorrow
- Somerset
- Texas
- Young Doctor Malone
{{colend}}
Procter & Gamble also was the first company to produce and sponsor a prime-time serial, a 1965 spin-off of As the World Turns called Our Private World. In 1979, PGP produced Shirley, a prime-time NBC series starring Shirley Jones, which lasted 13 episodes. They also produced TBS' first original comedy series, Down to Earth, which ran from 1984 to 1987 (110 episodes were produced). They also distributed the syndicated comedy series Throb. In 1985, they produced a game-show pilot called The Buck Stops Here with Taft Entertainment Television in 1985, hosted by Jim Peck; it was not picked up. Procter & Gamble Productions originally co-produced Dawson's Creek with Columbia TriStar Television but withdrew before the series premiere due to early press reviews. They also produced the 1991 TV movie A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story, which was co-produced by The Landsburg Company,{{Cite web |last=McDougal |first=Dennis |date=April 2, 1991 |title=Bell's story doesn't ring quite true |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-04-02-1991092190-story.html |access-date=June 27, 2023 |website=Balttmore Sun}} and they continued to produce the People's Choice Awards until the show was sold to E! channel in April 2017.{{cite news |last1=Horgan |first1=Richard |title=Procter & Gamble Says Goodbye to the People's Choice Awards |url=https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/procter-gamble-peoples-choice-awards/ |access-date=July 15, 2020 |work=www.adweek.com |date=April 8, 2017}} In 2007, PGP teamed up with the now-defunct Cookie Jar Group to produce the Flash-animated children's series Will and Dewitt, which featured the character Dewitt, the mascot for the Pampers baby product line's former sub-brand, Kandoo.
With Walmart, PGP sponsored Family Movie Night on broadcast networks in 2010–2011{{cite news|last1=Buss|first1=Dale|title=P&G, Walmart Extend Family-Friendly TV Funding|url=http://brandchannel.com/2011/04/18/pg-walmart-extend-family-friendly-tv-funding/|access-date=February 27, 2018|work=brandchannel|publisher=Interbrand|date=April 18, 2011|archive-date=June 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610115744/http://brandchannel.com/2011/04/18/pg-walmart-extend-family-friendly-tv-funding/|url-status=dead}} and Walden Family Theater on the Hallmark Channel in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Ng|first1=Philiana|title=Hallmark Channel Sets Family Movie Series|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hallmark-channel-sets-family-movie-423549|access-date=January 12, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 25, 2013}}
In 2013, PGP rebranded itself as Procter & Gamble Entertainment (PGE) with a new logo and an emphasis on multiple-platform entertainment production.
P&G funded a six-episode series, Activate, on National Geographic in 2019 focusing on extreme poverty, inequality and sustainability in conjunction with not-for-profit Global Citizen and production company Radical Media.{{cite news |last1=Handley |first1=Lucy |title=P&G moves away from ads and toward TV shows that go way beyond product placement |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/pg-moves-away-from-ads-and-toward-creative-content-partnerships.html |access-date=July 15, 2020 |work=CNBC |date=September 5, 2019}} The company agreed to a longform series deal with Stone Village Television in January 2020. In February 2020, P&G joined Imagine Documentaries' five project slate including Mars 2080, the project closest to production.{{cite news |last1=Donnelly |first1=Matt |title=Imagine Docs, Procter & Gamble Launch Major Content Deal With Scripted Mars Feature (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/imagine-docs-proctor-and-gamble-mars-1234706131/ |access-date=July 15, 2020 |work=Variety |date=July 14, 2020}}
= Sponsorships =
In addition to its self-produced items through PGE, Procter & Gamble also supports many Spanish-language novellas through advertising on all networks: Azteca América, Estrella TV, Galavisión, Telemundo, UniMás and Univisión. P&G was one of the first mainstream advertisers on Spanish-language TV during the mid-1980s.{{Cite news |last1=Stevenson |first1=Richard W. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1988-07-07 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Spanish-Language TV Grows Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/07/business/the-media-business-spanish-language-tv-grows-up.html |access-date=2024-07-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Richard W. |date=1985-11-14 |title=HISPANIC NETWORK UNDER FIRE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/14/business/hispanic-network-under-fire.html |access-date=2024-07-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} By the late 1990s, P&G was established as the largest advertiser on Spanish-language media.{{Cite news |last=Gellene |first=Denise |date=November 19, 1999 |title=Procter & Gamble Takes a Familial Approach in Efforts to Reach Latinos |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-19-fi-35229-story.html |access-date=September 18, 2023}}
In 2008, P&G expanded into music sponsorship when it joined Island Def Jam to create Tag Records, named after a body spray that P&G acquired from Gillette.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/business/media/07music.html?_r=2&adxnnnlx=1215442912-P1oe44maZMAEL5WOZFKoBw/ |first=Robert |last=Levine |title=It's American Brandstand: Marketers Underwrite Performers |newspaper=New York Times |date=July 7, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524072632/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/business/media/07music.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=media&adxnnlx=1215442912-P1oe44maZMAEL5WOZFKoBw%2F |archive-date=May 24, 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/07/10/brand-advisory.aspx |title=P&G Must Proceed With Caution |website=Marketing Blog |date=July 10, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410104012/http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/07/10/brand-advisory.aspx |archive-date=April 10, 2012}} In 2010, after the cancellation of As the World Turns, PGP announced they were phasing out soap opera production and expanding into more family-appropriate programming.{{cite news | newspaper=Times Record News | location=Wichita Falls, Texas | date=December 11, 2010 | page=18 | title=Soap operas are out, social media is in for advertiser Procter & Gamble | last=Walker | first=Lynn | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112180216/pg-ends-soap-operas/}}
Procter & Gamble also gave a $100,000 contract to the winners of Cycles 1 through 3 of Canada's Next Top Model, wherein Andrea Muizelaar, Rebecca Hardy, and Meaghan Waller won the prize.
Procter & Gamble has been a major sponsor of the Summer Olympics since 2012. It sponsored 150 athletes at the London games that year.{{cite web |url=http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/pg-sponsors-more-150-world-class-athletes-london-2012-olymp |title=P&G Sponsors More Than 150 World-Class Athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games |date=July 29, 2012 |website=Procter & Gamble |access-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203220908/http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/pg-sponsors-more-150-world-class-athletes-london-2012-olymp |archive-date=December 3, 2016 |url-status=live}} They have also sponsored the Winter Olympics since 2014. It will do so at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France besides the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo/Milan, Italy. The company's sponsorship includes television ads in which Olympic athletes are portrayed as children to convey the sense that the mothers of these athletes still remember them as infants; other ads stress how Olympic mothers stood by their children through years of training all the way through to Olympic success. 2016's ad for the Rio Games notes upheavals as youths by an American gymnast, Chinese swimmer, Brazilian volleyballer, and German distance runner. The ads all make prominent use of the Ludovico Einaudi orchestral track "Divenire" and related such instrumentals.
The company has actively developed or sponsored numerous online communities,{{cite book|author=Michael J. Shaw|title=E-Business Management: Integration of Web Technologies with Business Models|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK8UXj-A9AMC&pg=PA112|access-date=January 24, 2013|date=October 31, 2002|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4020-7178-2|page=112|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913201734/http://books.google.com/books?id=eK8UXj-A9AMC&pg=PA112|archive-date=September 13, 2014|url-status=live}} e.g. BeingGirl.com (launched in 2000){{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/07/37788 |title=Dancing tampons |magazine=Wired |date=July 26, 2000 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108005947/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/07/37788 |archive-date=November 8, 2012}} and Women.com. {{As of|2000}}, the company had 72 "highly stylized destination sites".{{cite book|title=Business 2.0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSQiAQAAMAAJ|access-date=January 24, 2013|date=November 2000|publisher=Imagine Media|page=34|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913200154/http://books.google.com/books?id=lSQiAQAAMAAJ|archive-date=September 13, 2014|url-status=live}}
Carbon footprint
Procter & Gamble reported total CO2e emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) for the twelve months ending December 31, 2020, at 2,619{{nbsp}}kilotonnes{{nbsp}}(kt), a decrease of 1,441{{nbsp}}kt or 35.5% from the previous year.{{Cite web |title=Procter & Gamble's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |url=https://downloads.ctfassets.net/65t6gtjv57wo/65mNYNUneCpnBSH0ObEYmx/8ab6294c1207756471e2ace8fca5273a/citizenship_report_2020_full.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109172146/https://downloads.ctfassets.net/65t6gtjv57wo/65mNYNUneCpnBSH0ObEYmx/8ab6294c1207756471e2ace8fca5273a/citizenship_report_2020_full.pdf |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |page=157}} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Procter%20&%20Gamble/Total%20CO2e%20Emissions%20-%20Market-Based%20Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202/2020Q4/12 Alt URL] In September 2021, P&G set a new ambition to achieve net zero emissions across its operations and supply chain by 2040.{{Cite web |title=Environmental | Procter & Gamble Investor Relations |url=https://www.pginvestor.com/esg/environmental/climate/default.aspx |website=www.pginvestor.com}}
Corporate diversity
In January 2019, CEO David Taylor said in Switzerland: "The world would be a better place if my board of directors on down is represented by 50% of the women. We sell our products to more than 50% of the women." Also in January 2019, The Wall Street Journal noted the company's board of directors had more than twice as many men as it does women.{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=James |date=January 29, 2019 |title=Gillette, Masculinity and 'Authenticity' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/gillette-masculinity-and-authenticity-11548802921 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130114457/https://www.wsj.com/articles/gillette-masculinity-and-authenticity-11548802921 |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |access-date=January 30, 2019 |work=The Wall Street Journal |quote=The world would be a better place if my board of directors on down is represented by 50% of the women. We sell our products to more than 50% of the women" [...] the company's website suggests that the potentially toxic males outnumber the females by more than two-to-one.}} As of mid-2020, the board of P&G consisted of an equal number of men and women.{{cite web |title=Board Composition |url=https://us.pg.com/structure-and-governance/board-of-directors-composition/ |access-date=December 12, 2020 |website=Procter & Gamble}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=P&G adds former chief executive of BET Networks Debra Lee to board |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/08/12/pg-adds-debra-lee-to-board.html |access-date=January 11, 2021 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}
Controversies
=Toxic shock syndrome and tampons=
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a disease caused by strains of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. Most people have these bacteria living in their bodies as harmless commensals in places such as the nose, skin, and vagina. The disease can strike anyone, not only women, but the disease is often associated with tampons. In 1980, 814 menstrual-related TSS cases were reported; 38 deaths resulted from the disease. The majority of women in these cases were documented as using super-absorbent synthetic tampons, particularly the Rely tampon created by Procter & Gamble.{{cite web |last1=Mikkelson |first1=Barbara |last2=Mikkelson |first2=David |url=http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/tampax.asp
|title=Tampax Pearl |website=Snopes.com | date=December 31, 2005 |access-date=May 5, 2012}} Unlike other tampons made of cotton and rayon, Rely used carboxymethylcellulose and compressed beads of polyester for absorption.
In the summer of 1980, the Centers for Disease Control released a report explaining how these bacterial mechanisms were leading to TSS. They also stated that the Rely tampon was associated with TSS more than any other brand of tampon. In September 1980, Procter & Gamble voluntarily recalled its Rely brand of tampons from the market.{{cite news |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times
|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-04-me-31370-story.html
|title=Jury: Tampon Caused Death, but Company Is Not Liable : Verdict: The family of an Anaheim woman, who died of toxic shock syndrome, had sought $9 million in damages.
|quote=because (her) death could not have been foreseen
|author=Rene Lynch |date=May 4, 1993}} Since the 1980s, reported cases of TSS have dramatically decreased.{{cite web
|last=Mcpherson |first=Marianne |url=http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=13&compID=38
|title=Sexual Anatomy, Reproduction, and the Menstrual Cycle |date=March 2005
|website=Boston Women's Health Book Collective |access-date=May 5, 2012 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204102210/http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=13&compID=38
|archive-date=February 4, 2012}}
= Other products =
In 2002, P&G was sued for its ads falsely suggesting to the consumers that the drug Prilosec could cure heartburn in a day.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3076971 |title=Over-the-counter Prilosec to debut |date=October 15, 2003 |website=NBC News |access-date=July 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223213142/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3076971/ns/health-digestive_diseases |archive-date=February 23, 2015 |url-status=live}} In December 2005, the Pharmaceutical division of P&G was involved in a dispute over research involving its osteoporosis drug Actonel. The case was discussed in the media.{{cite web |url=http://www.thejabberwock.org/wiki/index.php?title=Actonel_Case_Media_Reports |title=Collated Media Reports |website=Thejabberwock.org |date=July 7, 2011 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224010039/http://www.thejabberwock.org/wiki/index.php?title=Actonel_Case_Media_Reports |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |url-status=live}}
= Animal testing =
Procter & Gamble has received criticism from animal advocacy group PETA for the practice of testing on animals.{{cite book |last=Liddick |first=Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-i09nTSSAkC&pg=PA35 |title=Eco-terrorism: radical environmental and animal liberation movements |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-275-98535-6 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125134712/https://books.google.com/books?id=I-i09nTSSAkC&pg=PA35 |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}
On June 30, 1999, Procter & Gamble announced that it would limit its animal testing practices to its food and drug products which represented less than 20% of its product portfolio.{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Canedy |title=P.& G. to End Animal Tests For Most Consumer Goods |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 1, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/01/business/p-g-to-end-animal-tests-for-most-consumer-goods.html |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207121602/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/01/business/p-g-to-end-animal-tests-for-most-consumer-goods.html |archive-date=December 7, 2011 |url-status=live}} The company invested more than $275 million in the development of alternative testing methods.{{cite web| title= Animal Welfare and Alternatives| url= http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/policies_practices/animal_welfare.shtml| website= Procter & Gamble| access-date= May 5, 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140319121834/http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/policies_practices/animal_welfare.shtml| archive-date= March 19, 2014| url-status= live}}
= Price fixing =
In April 2011, P&G was fined €211.2 million by the European Commission for establishing a price-fixing cartel for washing powder in Europe along with Unilever, which was fined €104 million, and Henkel. Though the fine was set higher at first, it was discounted by 10% after P&G and Unilever admitted running the cartel. As the provider of the tip-off leading to investigations, Henkel was not fined.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13064928 |website=BBC News |title=Unilever and Procter & Gamble in price fixing fine |date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509100638/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13064928 |archive-date=May 9, 2018 |url-status=live}}
= Child labor and forced labor =
According to a 2016 report by Amnesty International, palm oil provider Wilmar International, the world's biggest palm oil grower in 2016 and supplier of raw materials to Procter & Gamble, profited from 8 to 14-year-old child labor and forced labor. Some workers were extorted, threatened, or not paid for work. Some workers also suffered severe injuries from toxic banned chemicals.{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/5184/2016/en/ |title=The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses Behind Big Brand Names |date=November 30, 2016 |website=Amnesty International |access-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423210624/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/5184/2016/en/ |archive-date=April 23, 2018 |url-status=live}}
= Logo myth and Satanism accusations =
P&G's former logo originated in 1851 as a crude cross that barge workers on the Ohio River painted on cases of P&G star candles to identify them. P&G later changed this symbol into a trademark that showed a man in the Moon overlooking 13 stars, said to commemorate the original Thirteen Colonies.{{cite web |title=Procter and Gamble v. Amway 242 F.3d 539 |url=http://openjurist.org/242/f3d/539/the-procter-and-gamble-company-v-amway-corporation |website=U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit |date=February 14, 2001 |access-date=August 28, 2014}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
The company received unwanted media publicity in the 1980s due to rumors, spread largely by Amway distributors, that the Moon-and-stars logo was a satanic symbol. The accusation was based on a particular passage in the Bible, specifically Revelation 12:1, which states: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of 12 stars." P&G's logo consisted of a man's face on the Moon surrounded by 13 stars. Some claimed that the logo was a mockery of the heavenly symbol alluded to in the aforementioned verse, thus construing the logo to be satanic. Where the flowing beard meets the surrounding circle, three abstracted curls were said to be a mirror image of the number 666, or the number of the beast. At the top and bottom, the hair curls in on itself and was said to be the horns like those of a ram. In 1991, details of the logo were simplified, and the moon-and-stars logo was completely replaced by a text-only logo in 1995 in a failed attempt to quash the conspiracy theory, though in 2013 it unveiled a new logo with a hint of a crescent moon behind the text.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/762134992.html?dids=762134992:762134992&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+25%2C+1985&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Corporate+news&pqatl=google |title=Corporate news: Procter symbol succumbs to devilish rumor |last=Witt |first=Howard |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 25, 1985 |access-date=July 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725063848/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/762134992.html?dids=762134992:762134992&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+25%2C+1985&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Corporate+news&pqatl=google |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last=Skvarla|first=Robert|date=July 13, 2017|title=When 1980s Satanic Panic Targeted Procter & Gamble|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/procter-gamble-satan-conspiracy-theory|access-date=January 11, 2021|website=Atlas Obscura}}{{Cite web|last=Stampler|first=Laura|title=In Spite Of Old, False Satanist Accusations, P&G Put A Moon Back Into Its New Logo|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pg-puts-moon-in-new-logo-despite-satanist-accusations-2013-5|access-date=January 11, 2021|website=Business Insider}}
These interpretations have been denied by company officials and no evidence linking the company to the Church of Satan or any occult organization has ever been presented. The company unsuccessfully sued Amway from 1995 to 2003 over rumors forwarded through a company voice-mail system in 1995. In 2007, the company successfully sued individual Amway distributors for reviving and propagating the false rumors.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/procter-gamble-wins-satanic-civil-suit/ |website=CBS Money Watch |title=Procter & Gamble Wins Satanic Civil Suit |date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509065447/http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500395_162-2587161.html |archive-date=May 9, 2013 |url-status=live}} The Church of Satan denies being supported by Procter & Gamble.{{cite web|url=http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/_FAQ16.html|title=F.A.Q. Conspiracies|author=High Priest, Magus Peter H. Gilmore|website=Church of Satan|access-date=April 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318082153/http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/_FAQ16.html|archive-date=March 18, 2013|url-status=live}}
=Reverse domain name hijacking=
In March 2013, P&G was found by a World Intellectual Property Organization panel to have engaged in reverse domain hijacking in an attempt to obtain the domain name "swash.com" from Marchex in a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy proceeding. P&G originally stated it had generated more than $40 million in sales of its Swash laundry products over four years, a figure it later revised to $60,000.{{cite web|url=http://domainnamewire.com/2013/03/11/procter-gamble-guilty-of-reverse-domain-name-hijacking/|title=Procter & Gamble guilty of reverse domain name hijacking |date=March 11, 2013|access-date=March 11, 2013|work=DomainNameWire|first=Andrew|last=Allemann}} After losing the case P&G purchased the domain name from Marchex.{{cite web|url=http://domainnamewire.com/2013/04/29/guilty-of-rdnh-procter-gamble-swash/|title=After being found guilty of RDNH, Procter & Gamble pays up for Swash.com|date=April 29, 2013|access-date=July 21, 2014|work=DomainNameWire|first=Andrew|last=Allemann}} In 2013 attorney John Berryhill suggested that P&G did not intend to use the swash.com domain to market its existing range, as it had said, but rather a new product described in a 2011 trademark application as "An appliance for domestic use in the nature of a garment steamer for the purpose of removing wrinkles and odors from clothing and linen". Berryhill's theory was shown to be accurate after swash.com went live in June 2014.{{cite web|url=http://domainnamewire.com/2014/06/18/swash-domain/|title=Yes, P&G lied to try to steal the Swash.com domain name|date=June 18, 2014|access-date=July 21, 2014|work=DomainNameWire|first=Andrew|last=Allemann}}
= "The Talk" =
In 2017, as part of the "My Black is Beautiful" platform, P&G released an advertisement called "The Talk".{{cite web |last1=Morgan |first1=DeMarco |title=Procter & Gamble's new ad "The Talk" tackles more than selling soap |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-talk-ad-procter-and-gamble-commercial-racial-stereotypes-stirs-debate/ |website=CBS News |publisher=CBS |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=August 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216195636/https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/the-talk-ad-procter-and-gamble-commercial-racial-stereotypes-stirs-debate/ |archive-date=February 16, 2019 |url-status=live}} It showed African American mothers throughout the decades giving their children "the talk" about racism.{{cite news |title=Procter & Gamble: 'The Talk'{{!}} Ad |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/business/procter-and-gamble-the-talk-ad/2017/08/04/52345b76-7940-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_video.html?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=August 4, 2017}} The advertisement garnered controversy for several different reasons.{{cite web |last1=Beer |first1=Jeff |title=How P&G found the insight behind its Emmy-nominated ad "The Talk" |url=https://fastcompany.com/90203740/how-pg-found-the-insight-behind-its-emmy-nominated-ad-the-talk |website=Fast Company |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=June 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073810/https://amp.fastcompany.com/90203740/how-pg-found-the-insight-behind-its-emmy-nominated-ad-the-talk |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} Some criticized it for not showing any fathers giving "the talk", while others accused it of being anti-white.{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Veronica |title=Procter & Gamble stands by 'The Talk' ad despite racial controversy – NY Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/proctor-gamble-stands-talk-ad-controversy-article-1.3391920 |website=Daily News |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=August 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913074108/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/proctor-gamble-stands-talk-ad-controversy-article-1.3391920 |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} One scene depicted a mother warning her daughter about being pulled over by the police. The daughter responds by saying that she is a good driver so her mother doesn't need to worry about her getting a ticket. The mother then implies that she might experience police brutality by being racially profiled and killed.{{cite web |last1=Goldrich |first1=Robert |title=P&G's "The Talk" Wins Primetime Commercial Emmy Award |url=https://www.shootonline.com/news/pgs-talk%C2%A0wins-primetime-commercial-emmy-award |website=SHOOT |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913074041/https://www.shootonline.com/news/pgs-talk%C2%A0wins-primetime-commercial-emmy-award |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} Several police officers and groups accused that part of the advertisement of being anti-cop.{{cite web |last1=Tan |first1=Emily |title=Why P&G stood by its controversial ad 'The Talk' |url=https://www.campaignlive.com/article/why-p-g-stood-its-controversial-ad-the-talk/1485501 |website=US Campaign |publisher=Campaign |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073812/https://www.campaignlive.com/article/why-p-g-stood-its-controversial-ad-the-talk/1485501 |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} "The Talk" was accused by Michelle Malkin of National Review of being "liberal advertising". Malkin also called the ad "Black Lives Matter propaganda" and accused it of pandering and using identity politics.{{cite web |last1=Malkin |first1=Michelle |title=Procter & Gamble's Identity-Politics Pandering {{!}} National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/08/procter-gambles-liberal-advertising-falls-flat/ |website=National Review |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114183346/https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/08/procter-gambles-liberal-advertising-falls-flat/ |archive-date=November 14, 2018 |url-status=live}} Despite the criticism, the advertisement also received a lot of positive reception and praise with some calling it "powerful"{{cite web |last1=Oster |first1=Erik |title=Parents Have 'the Talk' in the Powerful 'My Black Is Beautiful' Campaign From P&G |url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/parents-have-the-talk-in-powerful-my-black-is-beautiful-campaign-from-pg/ |website=Adweek |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913074249/https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/parents-have-the-talk-in-powerful-my-black-is-beautiful-campaign-from-pg/ |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} and "thought-provoking". The advertisement has also won several awards including the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Grand Prix{{cite web |last1=Diaz |first1=Ann-Christine |last2=Neff |first2=Jack |title=P&G's 'The Talk' wins Film Grand Prix at Cannes |url=http://adage.com/creativity/work/procter-gamble-the-talk-full-length/52300 |website=AdAge |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=June 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913074430/http://adage.com/creativity/work/procter-gamble-the-talk-full-length/52300 |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} and the 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial during the 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.{{cite web |last1=Whitman |first1=Richard |title=P&G's 'The Talk,' An Ad About Racial Bias, Wins An Emmy |url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/324917/pgs-the-talk-an-ad-about-racial-bias-wins-an.html |website=MediaPost |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=September 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073809/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/324917/pgs-the-talk-an-ad-about-racial-bias-wins-an.html |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}}
= Gillette ad =
{{main|The Best Men Can Be}}
On January 14, 2019, P&G subsidiary Gillette released a controversial advertisement called "The Best Men Can Be", ostensibly to address negative behavior among men, including bullying, sexism, sexual misconduct, and toxic masculinity. The ad was the subject of controversy and was received negatively by various online commentators, becoming one of the most disliked videos on YouTube.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/gillette-ad-conservative-message-on-masculinity/|title=Gillette Is Not Wrong|last=Charen|first=Mona|date=January 17, 2019|website=National Review|access-date=January 17, 2019}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5503156/gillette-razors-toxic-masculinity/|title=Gillette Makes Waves With Ad Highlighting 'Toxic Masculinity'|magazine=Time|access-date=January 17, 2019}}
The ad led to calls for boycott of Gillette and Procter & Gamble.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-16/gillette-toxic-masculinity-advertisement-courts-talk-of-boycotts/10718004|title=Gillette faces talks of boycott over ad campaign railing against toxic masculinity|date=January 16, 2019|website=ABC News|access-date=January 16, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/gillette-metoo-commercial-criticizes-men-2019-1|title=Gillette chastises men in a new commercial highlighting the #MeToo movement — and some are furious|last=Green|first=Dennis|date=January 14, 2019|work=Business Insider|access-date=January 14, 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/business/2019/01/14/gillette-ad-men-me-too|title=Gillette released an ad asking men to 'act the right way.' Then came the backlash.|date=January 14, 2019|work=Boston.com|access-date=January 15, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/gillette-asks-how-we-define-masculinity-in-the-metoo-era-as-the-best-a-man-can-get-turns-30/|title=Gillette Asks How We Define Masculinity in the #MeToo Era as 'The Best a Man Can Get' Turns 30|website=Adweek|date=January 14, 2019 |access-date=January 15, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/gillette-s-a-man-responsibility/316231/|title=Gillette's new take on 'Best a Man Can Get' in commercial that invokes #MeToo|work=Advertising Age|date=January 14, 2019|access-date=January 15, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/business/gillette-ad-men.html|title=Gillette Ad With a #MeToo Edge Attracts Support and Outrage|first=Tiffany|last=Hsu|date=January 15, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116202350/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/business/gillette-ad-men.html|archive-date=January 16, 2019|url-status=live}} Later in the year, its Gillette shaving business took an $8 billion write-down in value, although the company and analysts pointed to accumulated currency fluctuations, the entrance of strong rivals and decline in the demand for shaving products since the division's previous valuation in 2005, rather than fallout from the ad.{{cite news |last1=Naidu |first1=Richa |last2=J |first2=Soundarya |title=P&G posts strong sales, takes $8 billion Gillette writedown |date=July 30, 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-proctergamble-results/pg-posts-strong-sales-takes-8-billion-gillette-writedown-idUSKCN1UP1AD |work=Reuters |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Rasmi |first1=Adam |title=A growing love of beards forced P&G's Gillette to shave off $8 billion |date=August 2, 2019 |url=https://qz.com/1680613/pgs-gillette-writes-off-8-billion-as-men-stop-shaving/ |publisher=Quartz |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=English |first1=Carleton |title=Nonshavers, rivals bleeding Gillette as P&G takes $8B writedown |date=July 31, 2019 |url=https://nypost.com/2019/07/30/nonshavers-rivals-bleeding-gillette-as-pg-takes-8b-writedown/ |publisher=New York Post |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Chesto |first1=Jon |title=Deep cut: $8 billion in value lopped off Gillette |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/08/01/shaving-cut-billion-value-lopped-off-gillette/iK4le4olFTRqFz4gk8GQxI/story.html |publisher=The Boston Globe |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Lucas |first1=Amelia |title=Procter & Gamble writes down Gillette business but remains confident in its future |date=July 30, 2019 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/30/procter-gamble-writes-down-gillette-business-but-remains-confident-in-its-future.html |publisher=CNBC |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Sozzi |first1=Brian |title=P&G's Gillette razor business is not for sale even after $8 billion write-down |date=July 30, 2019 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/p-gs-gillette-razor-business-is-not-for-sale-even-after-8-billion-writedown-122137193.html |publisher=Yahoo! Finance |access-date=August 4, 2020}}{{cite web |author=Trefis Team |title=Is Cost Of Sales The Key Driver Of Procter & Gamble's Expenses And Profitability? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2020/01/10/is-cost-of-sales-the-key-driver-of-procter--gambles-expenses-and-profitability/#68200a795e5f |work=Forbes |access-date=August 4, 2020}}
= Trade in Russia amid Ukraine war =
The Ukrainian National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NACP) placed P&G on the list of International Sponsors of War for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. P&G has two factories operating in Russia (the Gillette razor manufacturing plant in Saint Petersburg and a toiletries manufacturing plant in Tula Oblast), thus contributing to the Russian federal budget and financing Russian war crimes according to the NACP.{{Cite web |title=P&G (Procter & Gamble) - International sponsor of war {{!}} War and sanctions |url=https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/boycott/14/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202153515/https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/boycott/14/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=sanctions.nazk.gov.ua }} It was placed on the list alongside Bacardi and Unilever.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/23/unilever-comply-russian-conscription-law-staff-called-up?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other |title=
Unilever to comply with Russian conscription law if staff called up |work=The Guardian}} In 2022, the company's revenue amounted to 108 billion rubles.
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Kominicki, John, "James Gamble's Candles and Soap Lit Up Profit: Do It Right: He Helped Put P&G on an Ethical Path to Top", Los Angeles: Investor's Business Daily, March 6, 2015, p. A3.
- McGuigan, Lee, [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443715584100 "Procter & Gamble, Mass Media, and the Making of American Life"], Media, Culture, and Society 37 (September 2015), pp. 887–903. {{doi|10.1177/0163443715584100}}.
- Davey, KS & Sanders, TJ, "[https://aabri.com/manuscripts/121091.pdf Serial Strategic Innovation and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Longitudinal Case Study of Proctor and Gamble]", Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics 4 (July 2012), pp. 1–20.
External links
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