• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, September 5, 2008

As rivalries go, it sure seems as if Colgate-Crest should get more ink. Since at least 1955, the two have gone at each other--and never more so than today.

The face-off has intensified in the "Whitening" era, where both are marketing toothpaste and an array of other products that promise to restore the shine.

Both companies believe the more extra capabilities and specialties that can be packed into the tube--tartar and cavity protection, baking soda, whitening, etc.--the better chance they have to improve their fortunes.

And both have aggressively moved to take the whitening "technology" and extend it to other products within the "oral care" category.

Those too are now marketed as having multiple benefits. So, the seven-year-old Crest Whitestrips now have a new offering: Crest Whitestrips Daily Whitening + Tartar Protection. Pun intended: That's a mouthful.

Executives behind the Whitestrips have shown a penchant for using Hollywood as a marketing platform, with recent promotions involving ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and actress Mira Sorvino, to name two.

Now, with the newest product, Crest has once again looked to Tinseltown--with an understandable desire to link with "Young Hollywood," the oft-troubled group that keeps celebrity magazines in business.

Crest is making the seemingly safe bet that many young people aspire to be like "Young Hollywood." And that means having a gleaming smile, if for nothing else than the homemade video to post on MySpace.

In April, Crest linked with the annual Young Hollywood Awards to give the new Daily Whitening + Tartar Protection some wind at its back. The brand sponsored a "Best On Screen Smile" award, hosted an after-party and ran a sweepstakes.

Last month, Crest returned to Hollywood via a sponsored segment on the Aug. 12 edition of "Entertainment Tonight" (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX).

The short piece showed four "Young Hollywood" stars of new film "The House Bunny" (Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee and Rumer Willis) having a good 'ol time posing and modeling and admiring themselves in an old-time photo booth -- the "ET Photo Booth by Crest Whitestrips Daily Whitening."

Bookending the segment with the actresses gabbing and laughing and complimenting each other came billboards for the product. And during those good times, a Whitestrips logo appeared on-screen twice.

It may not have been the most creative brand integration, but it's hard to argue with the thinking behind it.

Of course, expect Colgate and Crest to continue to look for on-screen placements. For its part, Colgate is opening its arms wide to those who come with no cost.

Its Web site offers an easy opportunity to contact the company about using one of its brands in a TV show or film.

Product	Show	Q-Ratio
Rubik's Cube	Wanna Bet	6.3439
Utz Potato Chips	Mad Men	2.2752
Chevy Impala	Burn Notice	1.5590
Crest Whitestrips	Entertainment Tonight	1.0700

Click here to view these placements. Data and analysis provided by iTVX.