The P&G
production logo used from early 1985 to 2007
Procter &
Gamble produced and sponsored the first radio soap operas in the 1930s (Procter
& Gamble's being known for detergents—soaps—was the genesis of the term
"soap opera"). When the medium switched to television in
the 1950s and 1960s, most of the new serials were sponsored and produced by the
company. The serial The Young and the Restless is
currently broadcast on CBS and is still partially sponsored by Procter &
Gamble. When As the World Turns left the air on
September 17, 2010, The Young and the Restless, became the only soap
opera left that is partially sponsored by Procter & Gamble.
These past
serials were produced by Procter & Gamble:
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Procter &
Gamble also was the first company to produce and sponsor a prime-time show, a
1965 spin-off of the daytime soap opera As the World Turns called Our
Private World. In 1979, PGP produced Shirley, a prime-time NBC series starring Shirley Jones
which lasted thirteen episodes. They also produced TBS'
first original comedy series, Down to Earth, which ran from 1984 to 1987
(110 episodes were produced). They also distributed the syndicated comedy
series Throb.
Procter & Gamble Productions originally co-produced Dawson's
Creek with Sony Pictures Television, but withdrew
before the series premiere due to early press reviews. It also produced the
1991 TV movie A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story, which was
co-produced by The Landsburg Company. It also produces
the People's Choice Awards.
In addition to
self-produced items, Procter & Gamble also supports many Spanish-language
novellas through advertising on networks such as Univision,
Telemundo,
Telefutura,
and Azteca
America. Procter & Gamble was one of the first mainstream
advertisers on Spanish-language TV during the mid-1980s.
Procter & Gamble
Entertainment (PGE) logo, 2013
In 2008,
P&G expanded into music sponsorship when it joined Island Def Jam to create
Tag Records, named after a body spray that P&G acquired from Gillette. In
April 2010, after the cancellation of As the World Turns, PGP announced
they were officially phasing out of the soap industry and expanding into more
family appropriate programming.