Superstar Mary J. Blige Lends Her Voice to Crest Healthy Smiles This Holiday Season

Superstar Mary J. Blige Lends Her Voice to Crest Healthy Smiles This Holiday Season

R&B Star Records Song Exclusively for Oral Health Awareness Program To Benefit Children in Need

CINCINNATI, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R&B superstar Mary J. Blige will pass along a smile to millions of children this holiday season as she partners with Crest(R) Healthy Smiles to raise awareness about the country's oral health epidemic.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051006/CLTH067A)

With the purchase of Crest products(1) this year during November and December, Crest will make a donation of a toothbrush and toothpaste to a deserving child. As a thank you for their purchase, consumers can log onto www.cresthealthysmiles.com, and download a remake of James Taylor's hit song "Your Smiling Face," which Blige recorded exclusively for Crest Healthy Smiles and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

"I recorded 'Your Smiling Face' because I believe it captures the joy and warmth that another person's smile can bring," said Blige. "Crest Healthy Smiles helps bring smiles to the faces of millions of families. I'm thrilled to be part of the program to make a difference in the health of so many kids in need."

"Crest is excited to be working with Mary J. Blige to help bring smiles to millions of children this holiday season," said Diane Dietz, General Manager - Procter & Gamble North America Oral Care. "Not only will this partnership impact deserving children immensely by bringing them the necessary tools for achieving healthy, beautiful smiles for life, but we will bring smiles to millions of people through the gift of music."

To download Blige's free, exclusive remake of "Your Smiling Face," consumers must log onto www.cresthealthysmiles.com and enter a Crest product UPC code.

In addition to appearances in New York City and Philadelphia, Blige will be visiting with Boys & Girls Club members across the country throughout the promotional tour for her new album, Reminisce. Blige will discuss her commitment to Crest Healthy Smiles and the importance of children learning to care for their own smiles at an early age.

Crest Healthy Smiles in the Community

Since its inception in 2000, Crest Healthy Smiles has worked with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring Club children low- or no-cost dental care, access to dental professionals, oral health education and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Eight fully-operational Crest Smile Shoppes exist in Clubs throughout the country, and Clubs also run a specially designed curriculum, the Cavity-Free Zone, several times each year.

Crest Healthy Smiles brings oral care to children in underserved communities through partnerships with dental schools, mobile dental vans, and through grassroots and community events. Crest Healthy Smiles also reaches 90 percent of first-graders through its in-school oral health education programs.

Crest(R) is owned and distributed by Procter & Gamble.

For more information on Crest Healthy Smiles, log onto www.cresthealthysmiles.com.

About Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella, Gillette(R), and Braun. The P&G community consists of almost 140,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Mary J. Blige

Over the course of 14 years, six studio albums, one live collection, a dance album, and a remix album, Mary J. Blige has delivered potent R&B/hip-hop mantras that work on the head, heart and hips. When not in the studio, Mary is filming anti-drug public service announcements and working with various education groups. She recently received Rock the Vote's highest honor, the Patrick Lippert Award and she is a tireless fund-raiser for people with AIDS. Her new album Reminisce will be available in stores on November 22.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) comprises a national network of some 3,700 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4.4 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation.

(1) Up to 5 million product purchases

Media Contacts: DeVries Public Relations Cristina Calzadilla/212-891-0421 ccalzadilla@devries-pr.com

Caroline Gould/212-891-0430, or cgould@devries-pr.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051006/CLTH067A AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: The Procter & Gamble Company

CONTACT: Media, Cristina Calzadilla, +1-212-891-0421, or ccalzadilla@devries-pr.com, or Caroline Gould, +1-212-891-0430, or cgould@devries-pr.com, both of DeVries Public Relations

Web site: http://www.pg.com/ http://www.cresthealthysmiles.com/ http://www.bgca.org/

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