Jan 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Patricia Odell

Posing the question “What would you Ban?” to teenagers can elicit plenty of candid responses. Some 4,000, in fact, for Ban deodorant, which ran a contest giving teenagers the chance to “ban” the things in life they just don't like.

Of 4,000 entries, nine finalists and one grand-prize winner were selected; the group is set to appear together in a print ad in the March 20 issue of US Weekly.

Ban had suffered from an image as “your mother's deodorant” before it recharged the brand several years ago with new packaging and messaging that targeted teenage girls. Since then, the focus has been on catching the eye of that young demographic.

The Ban It contest was specifically geared for tech-savvy teens. Banner ads at MTV.com, p.r. and prints ads called for girls ages 13 and older to enter by uploading their own photo — or selecting an image from the site — along with a short phrase that explained what they would like to ban and why.

“We're trying to find a new way to connect with this consumer,” says Mark Fithian, interactive marketing partner at Dotglu, New York, which handled the campaign. “This is a really hard target to reach. She's real discerning about how she lets brands into her life and you can't be underhanded when trying to reach her.”

One finalist, Nikky L. in Chino, CA, entered an image that showed Nikky and a friend getting ready to shove a forkful of food into their wide-open mouths. The words “BAN DIETS” are superimposed over the image. The accompanying phrase reads: “Don't let anyone tell you what you can't or shouldn't eat. Be comfortable in your own skin.” Another finalist, Emily G. of Irving, TX, appears in the image with her eyes tightly closed and her mouth screwed into a scream. She writes: “Some situations make me want to just screeeeam! There's so much to worry about and stress over, but not if I can ban stress!” The words over the image read: BAN STRESS.

Judges selected the top 50 entries based on style, relevance to the category and originality, then voting began in November to select the nine finalists and grand-prize winner. E-mails were sent to everyone who participated in the program to alert them to the online voting. Customized campaign kits that included buttons, stickers, DVDs and suggestions to “go out and get the votes” were sent to each of the 50 finalists, Fithian says. Some 61,000 votes were cast and sales jumped 13% during the promotion.

The grand-prize winner received $1,500 and a trip for two to Los Angeles to meet Hilarie Burton, the star of One Tree Hill, who selected the grand-prize winner. The nine first-prize winners also got $1,500.

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