Procter & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful Challenges ESSENCE Festival Attendees to Live Better and Live Beautifully in 2013

My Black Is Beautiful Returns to New Orleans with a New Partnership, Exciting Booth Experiences and a VIP Screening of the Imagine a Future Documentary

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This July 5 - 8 in New Orleans, My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB) will mark its sixth year as one of the title sponsors of the ESSENCE Festival and will bring its personal care and beauty experiences to new heights during the four-day festival. MBIB will surprise and delight booth attendees at the Convention Center with daily appointments that will connect them with their favorite personal care and beauty brands and products through mini-makeovers and consultations in the MBIB Studio. Additionally, MBIB will continue the tradition of partnership with Girl Up NOLA for a private screening of its breakthrough documentary Imagine a Future, prior to the BET national broadcast premiere on July 5, 2013 at 10 PM ET/9 PM CT and on Centric on July 6th at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT.

And, for the first-time ever, through a new partnership with Walmart, a retailer that truly recognizes and caters to the unique needs of African-American women, the brands will come together to provide fun and entertaining activations that empower consumers to live better and live beautifully on the Walmart Talent Stage. Lucky fans will be entertained with experiences that include:

    Walmart gift card giveaways
    Surprise celebrity appearances
    Exciting programming hosted by Walmart and MBIB host, beauty journalist and expert, Tai Beauchamp

“As a long-standing ESSENCE Festival sponsor, My Black Is Beautiful is committed to providing interactive consumer experiences making us a fan favorite year after year and we are excited to expand our presence through a strategic partnership with Walmart,” said Grace Janes, Brand Manager, My Black Is Beautiful. “This year, we are also happy to bring our first-ever documentary, Imagine a Future, directly to our extended family in New Orleans – where Imagine a Future all started.”

The excitement continues away from the booth with the Imagine a Future documentary. One year after unveiling the Imagine a Future initiative – in conjunction with educational leader UNCF and community partner BLACK GIRLS ROCK! – MBIB will bring its namesake documentary to the local community in New Orleans through a partnership with Girl Up NOLA. With the help of Walmart, MBIB is giving over 200 local New Orleans' girls an exclusive opportunity to be one of the first to view the documentary before the national BET premiere. Screening attendees will learn about Janet Goldsboro's story of self-acceptance and self-discovery as she travels from Delaware to South Africa. During the special viewing, the young girls will also get an opportunity to engage with her and the film's creative team with an in-depth Q&A panel discussion, which is hosted by MBIB spokesperson and well-known actress, Tatyana Ali. MBIB Facebook fans at home will have the chance to change the conversation too, through an interactive livestream of the entire event.

Immediately before the national BET premiere on July 5, 2013 at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT, MBIB (@MBIB) will provide another opportunity for consumers at home to change the conversation by hosting a live Twitter party with Blogalicious (@beblogalicious), the number one multicultural blogger network, to encourage fans to view the documentary. And, the dialogue continues after the credits with the airing of “Girl Talk,” a summit-style discussion featuring Imagine a Future star Janet Goldsboro, the documentary director and producer team and African-American female leaders, also on BET.

Join MBIB in changing the conversation so every black girl believes her black is beautiful by visiting myblackisbeautiful.com, facebook.com/MBIB, or on Twitter, @MBIB. There, consumers will be able to find updates on MBIB activities at Essence Festival and keep up with Imagine a Future news and resources. Consumers will soon be able to download an Imagine a Future discussion guide that will provide insightful information to fuel conversations and engagement. The film will also be available for online viewing on the My Black is Beautiful YouTube channel.