Tired of associating toilet paper with quilting ladies and layers? Or the warm-and-fuzzies of bears and puppies?

Well, Cottonelle has seen to that by bringing the popular vote to a very familiar idiosyncrasy. Cottonelle’s The Great Debate asks: do you roll over or under?  

It is, or so it feels, an age-old argument. For some it’s a pet peeve, for others a nuisance worthy of marital strife. Cottonelle has used this argument to create a new campaign – and our vote is that it’s felt like the (ahem) freshest approach to TP in a long time.

We first caught the vividly colored and starkly simple graphic posters here in New York City. They drew the eye as much as they did a knowing smirk. (Admit it, we’ve all been there.) It’s been followed by man-on-the-street interviews featured on the site and a TV campaign a version airing during the Oscars – where the brand’s Chief Roll Officer announces the winner of the debate (“it only rolls one way...") 

But, of all the parts of the campaign, the posters have been the most eye-catching – and not just for the category. They’ve stood out among many other poster campaigns, with perhaps the exception being Diesel’s Be Stupid.

If you’re a fan of puppies and cuddles, don’t worry. Who isn’t? The pampered spa puppy commercial was rated one of the most loved commercials of 2009 by Nielsen. Cottonelle has kept its familiar puppy front and center, including a cute-clever little nod in the campaign to the canine “roll over” command.

We may be a little disappointed that the extremely simple, iconic poster design hasn’t carried through to the main site – and only somewhat to the CottonelleRollPoll.com site – but the campaign does show how brand’s can find an unexpected voice in simple, everyday human foibles.

What about you? Have you voted?

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