Oct 8, 2008 6:05 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

Perhaps a can of Pringles to tuck into the Christmas stocking this year? Procter & Gamble hopes so. It is tapping into the popularity of user-generated content with a promotion that lets people customize the cans for the holidays.

Visitors to the Pringles Can Creator site can design containers by creating a background from scratch or choose from ready-made templates. The designs can be customized with color, a message, or personal photos then printed and attached to a Pringles can.

The designs can be saved to the online gallery, where other visitors can vote on the submissions in three categories, including Funniest, Most Creative, and Best Design. The images can also be sent to friends and family, or posted to a blog.

P&G hopes the cans will be used in a variety of ways this holiday, including for homemade holiday cookies or candy to give to friends, as a unique gift box for those hard-to-wrap items, to give as a stocking stuffer, or to store breakable ornaments.

And starting Oct. 27, for every creation submitted, Pringles will donate $1, up to $20,000 to the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization that raises money for children’s hospitals across North America.

“Pringles is all about sharing fun times and the Can Creator was designed to express this and give our consumers a new way to enjoy and share Pringles,” Douwe Bergsma, Pringles North American marketing director, said in a release. “The Can Creator is a great way for people to have fun and enjoy time with their families during the holiday season.”

Pringles is reaching out to bloggers to help promote the effort with an online campaign. H&K Digital is pitching bloggers to garner the best submissions through Oct. 15. Five bloggers will be selected. The person with the most creative and visually appealing design will be the winner. The best creation will be integrated into a banner ad campaign that will appear throughout the BlogHer network from Oct. 22 through Nov. 5.

Already, dozens of designs have been uploaded to the site. Among some of the most popular themes are Halloween, pets and babies. The Pringles Can Creator will be available until June 30, P&G said.

Pringles is using freestanding inserts in store, PR and digital outreach to generate awareness around the promotion.

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