NEW YORK – Saturday, January 28th 2012 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)– Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, today announced it will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair.

The sponsorship is part of P&G’s Worldwide Olympic Partner status with the London 2012 Olympic Games and marks the first time Pantene has featured athletes as beauty ambassadors. The group will join the likes of celebrities such as Liv Tyler and Eva Mendes, who are featured in Pantene’s iconic campaigns. Among the athletes are six Olympic gold medalists, numerous world champions and top ranked women in swimming, tennis, gymnastics, cycling, diving and volleyball.

“I spend hours in the pool and I want my hair to look beautiful,” said 11-time U.S. Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin, one of the Pantene-sponsored athletes. “I trust Pantene to make my hair look great so I can concentrate on training.”

“We believe that healthy is the new beautiful and we’re thrilled to add this exceptional group to our select list of global beauty ambassadors. These women are a wonderful fit with our heritage of performance and shine,” said Hanneke Faber, Vice President and Brand Franchise Leader, Global Haircare at P&G. “Their hair is easily some of the most challenged on the planet and Pantene can take on the task. Our products are designed to perform under demanding conditions.”

Pantene’s athlete roster includes*:

Jaqueline Carvalho

Brazil

Volleyball

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist and Brazilian National Team striker

Natalie Coughlin

United States

Swimming

11-time Olympic medalist and multiple international competition medalist

Gisela Dulko

Argentina

Tennis

Top ranked global doubles player

Paola Espinosa

Mexico

Diving

Two-time Olympian and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games bronze medalist

Evgeniya Kanaeva

Russia

Rhythmic Gymnastics

2008 Olympic gold medalist

Wu Minxia

China

Diving

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion

Victoria Pendleton

Great Britain

Cycling

Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion

Annamay Pierse

Canada

Swimming

Olympian and world record holder in the 200m breast stroke

Aya Terakawa

Japan

Swimming

International competition medalist and Athens 2004 Olympic Games participant

*Additional athletes to be named later

The Pantene campaign leading up to and during London 2012 includes holistic and integrated support in advertising, retail, online and PR channels. It is part of P&G’s Worldwide Olympic Partner status, which is anchored by the ‘Thank You, Mom’ campaign for the London 2012 Olympic Games. P&G’s ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign will help improve life for moms around the world and provide support for the moms of the Pantene athletes and the moms of thousands of other Olympians. For more information on the brand’s activities, visit www.pantene.com.

About P&G

P&G touches and improves the lives of about 4.4 billion people around the world with its portfolio of trusted, quality brands. The Company’s leadership brands include Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, and Ambi Pur®. With operations in about 80 countries, P&G brands are available in more than 180 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.comfor the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50145935&lang=en

Photo Captions:

Image 1: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Image 2: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Image 3: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Image 4: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Image 5: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Image 6: Pantene, the world’s leading haircare brand, will support 11 elite female athletes as its newest beauty ambassadors. The group will be featured in Pantene’s first global marketing campaign to support the Olympic Games. The athletes will provide proof that, regardless of their training for the Olympic Games, Pantene’s performance helps give them beautiful hair. (Photo: Business Wire)

Contacts

Pantene

Randall Chinchilla, +1-513-626-5665

+1-513-780-7720

chinchilla.r@pg.com

Taylor

Mari Rella, +1-212-714-5744

+1-516-316-4611

mrella@taylorstrategy.com