Marketers take toilet paper to luxurious new levels

There are no ifs or ands about it, some marketers are preoccupied with butts.

Consumers spent more than $3.7 billion a year on toilet paper last year, according to Information Resources, and that does not include Wal-Mart Stores, wmt which does not report sales data.

And in a bid to boost their "bottom lines," name-brand TP makers are rolling out massive marketing campaigns that play up the benefits of their tissues.

Kimberly-Clark's kmb new promotions for Cottonelle began this week with TV, Web and print ads and a revamped Cottonelle.com website. The overall theme: "Be kind to your behind."

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In March, Cottonelle will send a bus across North America. Consumers will be invited onboard to sample the toilet tissue, as well as to learn stretches that ease aches and pains in the behind.

In 2007, Procter & Gamble pg made its largest-ever marketing investment in its Charmin brand. It hyped revamped "Ultra Soft" and "Ultra Strong" lines with new ads, and in November set up a 20-stall public restroom in New York City's Times Square where consumers could try the papers.

The goal for marketers is to elevate their bath tissue above commodity status and make it a "personal care" purchase.

"Bottoms deserve to be treated with the same care that we treat the rest of our bodies," says Alan Loux, Kimberly-Clark vice president of brand development. "People have different needs, so we have different products."

The new campaigns come as consumers are more open to frank advertising about bodily functions. In the past, many people would shocked by more explicit ads, says Dave Praeger, author of Poop Culture: How America is Shaped by its Grossest National Product, but "These days, (companies) can discuss their functional benefits more directly, without worrying about grossing out their customer."

One marketing edge the TP makers have is that in most homes, their products are a necessity: 93% of households bought toilet tissue during 52 weeks ended June 30, 2007, according to Homescan Consumer Facts. (What about the other 7%? Don't ask.) Consumers use about 20,805 sheets per year, according to industry data provided by Kimberly-Clark. At an average 4.5 inches per sheet, that's 1.5 miles of toilet paper per person.