BY RANDY TUCKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
John Glenn's historic return to space Thursday aboard space shuttle Discovery marked the dawn of a new age -- in advertising.
The Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Fla., broadcast the event to 20 U.S. cities using new digital, high-definition-television (HDTV) technology.
Procter & Gamble Co., which co-sponsored the broadcast, used the event to market its Tide, Pampers, Bounty, Scope and Head & Shoulders brands.
P&G was the only company to advertise during the broadcast, using commercials specially edited to fit the HDTV format.
The commercials were adapted to the HDTV format at a minimal cost, said Gretchen Briscoe, an advertising and marketing specialist at P&G.
"We really see HDTV as an option for us to help consumers understand the value that P&G products can bring to their lives, from the brightness of clothes washed in Tide to the texture of a Bounty paper towel," Ms. Briscoe said.
HDTV commercials appear much clearer than standard TV commercials and allow consumers to view P&G products in greater detail and with a broader field of vision, Ms. Briscoe said.
Two women who watched the Harris HDTV demonstration at the Circuit City store in Symmes Township agreed.
"The detail was beautiful. And the color," said Judy Benson of Mason after watching a Head & Shoulders commercial a few minutes before the shuttle launch.
Janis Stobart of Sharonville, after watching commercials for Bounty, Scope and Pampers Premium, said: "The color is more brilliant, and the detail is much better. I think the picture is terrific."
P&G first used the new broadcast medium for advertising when it showed commercials in March during an HDTV broadcast of the Texas Rangers' home opener against the Chicago White Sox.
As the nation's biggest advertiser, P&G has been a pioneer in new advertising mediums for more than 100 years, beginning with its first print ad for Ivory soap in 1882.
In 1923, P&G's Crisco brand became one of the first radio show sponsors.
And in 1939, P&G launched the first TV commercial -- an ad for Ivory that aired during the first Major League Baseball telecast, the Cincinnati Reds at the Brooklyn Dodgers.
John Kiesewetter contributed to this report.
