• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, February 5, 2009 11 AM

Procter & Gamble may not see a future in selling osteoporosis drugs to aging baby boomers but, among other things, it is mindful that those aging bones are less likely to want to wash their own cars. Combine this with the fact that more communities find themselves needing to conserve water, and Nathan Estruth, vp of P&G's FutureWorks, sees an opportunity to build a national car cleaning franchise under the Mr. Clean banner.

In December, P&G added the franchise assets of Atlanta-based Carnett's Car Wash, which has 14 locations, to the two Mr. Clean Car Washes it has operated since 2007 near its Cincinnati headquarters. Carnett's owners, a father and son duo, bring more than 50 years of car-washing expertise to P&G and have signed on to run the Mr. Clean operation. "We need to look for new opportunities to allow us to grow," says Bruce Brown, P&G's chief technology officer. "That isn't limited to things within our current business model."

P&G marketers are eager to see if Mr. Clean Car Washes dotting roadways will help boost the image and exposure of the overall brand, Ellen Byron reports. Expanding into franchises, Estruth says, is "broadening Mr. Clean's shoulders as a magical helper."

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