While Americans spend an average of seven years on the toilet, few get excited about the newest flusher to hit the market. But industrial-goods maker American Standard and ad agency Carmichael Lynch may have changed that, once and for all. Using a little potty humor and a lot of creative B2B marketing, the agency designed a marketing campaign for American Standard's high-end, water-conserving toilet "The Champion" that successfully transformed the ordinary commode into a heroic icon.

The integrated campaign highlighted Champion's unique feature: the power-flush toilet meets government water-usage regulations yet never requires a double flush. To illustrate the efficiency of American Standard's new product, Carmichael Lynch utilized a variety of humorous promotions including a "Sexiest-Plumber-Alive" contest and the 70-city traveling FlushFest. Memorable slogans such as "The New King of the Throne" reinforced a pledge that homeowners will "never plunge again."

Not surprisingly, the campaign's contests, trade-show antics, and plunger-tossing fests were a flushing success: more than 182,000 units were sold within the first year, a full 32 percent more than American Standard's aggressive forecasts. And with momentum building behind the company's new B2B marketing approach, Champion is poised to plunge the competition down the drain.