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Sharpie Invites Celebs, Fans To 'Ink It Pink'

SHARPIE-INK-IT-PINK

Sharpie is kicking off its second annual "Ink It Pink" campaign to help fight breast cancer.

The felt-tip marker maker is inviting celebrities and fans to sign a pink autograph for the cause. For every pink autograph submitted through Oct. 31, Sharpie will donate $1 to Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope, a cancer research, treatment and education center -- up to a maximum donation of $10,000.

The campaign is supported with digital advertising and public relations through Draftfcb and Weber Shandwick, respectively. Digital advertising is comprised of Facebook marketplace and story ads and Twitter promoted Tweets. All drive to sharpie.com and encourage submissions. The campaign will be featured heavily on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube in October. There is also a retail display in select retail outlets.

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"While woman are a primary purchaser, that's only one part of the story as to why Sharpie got involved with City of Hope," Sally Grimes, Sharpie global vice president of marketing, tells Marketing Daily. "On a more personal level, breast cancer is a disease that touches so many lives, including people within our own company. We have such a strong allegiance at Sharpie to City of Hope, including an active internal support network. Ink It Pink is a natural extension of something we all feel very passionately about."

Rock artist Grace Potter has already signed on to the effort. Potter helped kick off the campaign Sept. 24 during her band's concert in New York City's Central Park, where she inked pink autographs for fans and encouraged them to send their own autographs to Sharpie.

Last year, in its inaugural "Ink It Pink" campaign, hundreds of celebrities, from Hollywood movie legends and hall-of-fame athletes to revered rocks stars and respected media icons, lent their signatures to the effort. Signatures included Miley Cyrus, Michael Phelps, Usher, Lauren Conrad, Tony Hawk, Bret Favre, Donovan McNabb, Sofia Vergara, Chris Evert, Molly Ringwald and Olivia Newton-John.

To submit a pink autograph to the "Ink It Pink" gallery, consumers can visit www.sharpie.com, where they can also view celebrity signatures.

The campaign will be the spotlight feature on BroadCause the week of Sept. 26. BroadCause is a notable philanthropic Web site where people, corporations and causes unite and engage in one centralized place to support a variety of important causes.

Sharpie has been a City of Hope partner since 2006 through the sale of its Pink Ribbon marker and highlighter. This year, the brand is adding the Sharpie Pink Ribbon pen for everyday writing to the lineup. Ten cents from the sale of every marker, highlighter or pen benefit City of Hope. Since 2006, Sharpie, along with parent company Newell Rubbermaid, has donated more than $2 million to City of Hope's lifesaving research and treatment programs.

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