Charmin is incorporating an aggressive social media campaign to get people talking about their bathroom habits and connect consumers around the world with its annual luxury public restrooms in New York City’s Times Square.

Procter & Gamble’s Charmin brand toilet paper has opened up its comfy bathrooms for passersby for four consecutive years during the final six weeks of the year. According to Charmin, approximately 1.5 million people have visited the restrooms since 2006.

In order to make the campaign more social this year, Charmin enlisted the help of five bathroom ambassadors to act as the Charmin Go Team. The five recruits were chosen based on an audition process and won $10,000 each to greet and entertain guests at the restrooms throughout the city. The Go Team will also be blogging, tweeting and sending Facebook messages about their experiences and the nuances of using the bathroom.

“Through the popular social media platforms that they use, the ambassadors have the capability to take the experience beyond Times Square, beyond New York City, and share the Charmin experience potentially across the country and across the world,” said Shawn Pulscher, Charmin assistant brand manager.

Images and video will also be posted on social networking sites including blog posts to the Charmin campaign website, EnjoytheGo.com. The site will cover stories about topics such as international bathroom habits, favourite places to use the bathroom and potty training tips for parents.

Visitors to the website are encouraged to post their own bathroom stories to share with the community or rate their experience at the Time Square Charmin bathroom locations. Participants will also be able to download photos they take at the locations or use the SitOrSquat application that allows them to search for public restrooms.

This year each of the new bathrooms were designed to offer participants all the comforts of home. They feature sinks and toilets designed by Kohler, as well as televisions or iPods for your amusement.

The bathroom campaign has been set up to launch the brands broader Enjoy the Go campaign, which will be rolling out through next year.