- My Black Is Beautiful Returns to New Orleans with a New Partnership, Exciting Booth Experiences and a VIP Screening of the Imagine a Future Documentary -

(BLACK PR WIRE) – CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- This July 5 - 8 in New Orleans, My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB) will mark its sixth year as one of the title sponsors of the ESSENCE Festival and will bring its personal care and beauty experiences to new heights during the four-day festival. MBIB will surprise and delight booth attendees at the Convention Center with daily appointments that will connect them with their favorite personal care and beauty brands and products through mini-makeovers and consultations in the MBIB Studio. Additionally, MBIB will continue the tradition of partnership with Girl Up NOLA for a private screening of its breakthrough documentary Imagine a Future, prior to the BET national broadcast premiere on July 5, 2013 at 10 PM ET/9 PM CT and on Centric on July 6th at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT.

And, for the first-time ever, through a new partnership with Walmart, a retailer that truly recognizes and caters to the unique needs of African-American women, the brands will come together to provide fun and entertaining activations that empower consumers to live better and live beautifully on the Walmart Talent Stage. Lucky fans will be entertained with experiences that include:

• Walmart gift card giveaways

• Surprise celebrity appearances

• Exciting programming hosted by Walmart and MBIB host, beauty journalist and expert, Tai Beauchamp

"As a long-standing ESSENCE Festival sponsor, My Black Is Beautiful is committed to providing interactive consumer experiences making us a fan favorite year after year and we are excited to expand our presence through a strategic partnership with Walmart,” said Grace Janes, Brand Manager, My Black Is Beautiful. “This year, we are also happy to bring our first-ever documentary, Imagine a Future, directly to our extended family in New Orleans – where Imagine a Future all started.”

The excitement continues away from the booth with the Imagine a Future documentary. One year after unveiling the Imagine a Future initiative – in conjunction with educational leader UNCF and community partner BLACK GIRLS ROCK! – MBIB will bring its namesake documentary to the local community in New Orleans through a partnership with Girl Up NOLA. With the help of Walmart, MBIB is giving over 200 local New Orleans’ girls an exclusive opportunity to be one of the first to view the documentary before the national BET premiere. Screening attendees will learn about Janet Goldsboro’s story of self-acceptance and self-discovery as she travels from Delaware to South Africa. During the special viewing, the young girls will also get an opportunity to engage with her and the film’s creative team with an in-depth Q&A panel discussion, which is hosted by MBIB spokesperson and well-known actress, Tatyana Ali. MBIB Facebook fans at home will have the chance to change the conversation too, through an interactive livestream of the entire event.

Immediately before the national BET premiere on July 5, 2013 at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT, MBIB (@MBIB) will provide another opportunity for consumers at home to change the conversation by hosting a live Twitter party with Blogalicious (@beblogalicious), the number one multicultural blogger network, to encourage fans to view the documentary. And, the dialogue continues after the credits with the airing of “Girl Talk,” a summit-style discussion featuring Imagine a Future star Janet Goldsboro, the documentary director and producer team and African-American female leaders, also on BET.

Join MBIB in changing the conversation so every black girl believes her black is beautiful by visiting myblackisbeautiful.com, facebook.com/MBIB, or on Twitter, @MBIB. There, consumers will be able to find updates on MBIB activities at Essence Festival and keep up with Imagine a Future news and resources. Consumers will soon be able to download an Imagine a Future discussion guide that will provide insightful information to fuel conversations and engagement. The film will also be available for online viewing on the My Black is Beautiful YouTube channel.

ABOUT PROCTER AND GAMBLE

P&G serves approximately 4.6 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, Ambi Pur®, SK-II®, and Vicks®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 75 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands. 

ABOUT WALMART

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 245 million customers and members visit our more than 10,800 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2013 sales of approximately $466 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com.

ABOUT UNCF

UNCF is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. UNCF supports education through scholarships and other programs, by supporting its 38 member colleges and universities, and by advocating for the importance of minority education. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. The UNCF logo features the torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."® Learn more at www.UNCF.org.  

ABOUT BLACK GIRLS ROCK!

Founded by celebrity DJ and Philanthropist, Beverly Bond, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ is dedicated to promoting positive images of women of color in mass media. BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that has been dedicated to the healthy development of young women and girls since 2006. BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Inc. seeks to build the self-esteem and self-worth of young women of color by changing their outlook on life, broadening their horizons and helping them to empower themselves. For additional information on BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™, visit www.blackgirlsrock.org.

ABOUT BLOGALICIOUS

Blogalicious, founded in 2009, is the premier multicultural digital media community celebrating diversity in social media. By offering marketing, educational, networking and social opportunities geared towards women of all backgrounds, Blogalicious serves to uplift and advance its community of over 2,000 official members in their digital endeavors, and connect them with lifestyle consumer brands. Under the Blogalicious umbrella are several unique efforts, all dedicated to fostering diversity-both of ethnicity and thought-in social media, including the bLink Marketing Network; the #BeUplifted social media chat series; and the Blogalicious Weekend Conference, which generates upwards of 300M media impressions yearly.

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Source: Procter & Gamble 

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