Unique integrated campaign has resulted in over 63 million impressions.

Think product placement on a television series and the first image that comes to mind is an innocuous insertion into the daily routine of a show -- characters in a restaurant ordering a specific brand of diet cola with their meal, or brushing their teeth with the toothpaste's logo clearly visible.

That was then, but this is now. Last month, Procter & Gamble and NBC-TV's "The Apprentice" took the bounds of product placement to a new level, using the smash hit series to ask show contestants to devise a marketing campaign for Crest Whitening Expressions, a new brand of Crest toothpaste. The episode, which aired Sept. 23, was followed with a commercial, in which viewers were asked go to Crest.com and explain their ideas for completing the contest.

The winner will receive a trip to the final Apprentice show and enjoy a complimentary stay at a Trump hotel -- a hotel not coincidentally bearing the name of the tycoon who is front and center on "The Apprentice."

"What makes this (campaign) unique is that it is the first time in television history that a product has been launched on reality TV," says Ken Zinn, iMarketing manager for Crest and Scope.

In addition to Crest.com, online contestants had the option of going to any of several Web sites, where paid links were posted to entry forms. When clicked, the links led to a Web server hosted by New York-based interactive promotion agency ePrize, the company that hosted and developed the interactive promotion element of the campaign.

According to Zinn, out of a cumulative 20 million page views, some 85,000 entries were received. Of those 85,000 entries, some 35,000 contained either general or specific marketing suggestions.

"The online component allowed the television watcher to go from passive to active involvement," says Josh Linkler, ePrize CEO. "Media consumption is shifting, and in this demographic that the show appeals to, they are spending a lot more time online. By taking this contest online, it allows Crest to establish a one-to-one relationship with their customers."

Online placements were coordinated by Response Media of Atlanta. The placements mainly consisted of skyscrapers and banners, and were made on several Web sites. The variety of chosen online venues is due to the fact, according to Zinn, that "consumers and market segments keep getting fragmented and more elusive all the time."

So what did this extensive campaign bring to Crest? Judging by pre-orders for Crest Whitening Expressions, key retailers were energized by the episode product placement and the online component. Procter & Gamble says that although complete sales results are not available, there was a significant increase in retail display orders prior to the Crest/Apprentice episode. The company projects that this increased merchandising demand will result in a volume forecast increase to the entire line of Crest Whitening Expressions flavors.

"It's certainly ingenious, exploiting Web technology as thoroughly as possible to draw viewers into the whole project of selling Crest, not just using it," says Mark Crispin Miller, professor of media studies at New York University.