Sunlight Green Clean laundry detergent is cleaning up with an innovative ad in the December issue of Today’s Parent.

The ad is part of the Sun Products Corporation brand’s sole sponsorship of the environment and health pillar of Today’s Parent‘s Healthy Kids 2009 initiative, an editorial series that served as the centerpiece of the Rogers Publishing title’s 25th anniversary celebration. Other pillars included injury prevention, fitness and healthy eating and mental health.

The execution features a custom-created gatefold cover that opens up to show kids getting their clothes messy while making Christmas cookies. The accompanying text reads ‘Wishing you a green holiday season.’

A subsequent DPS on the inside front cover shows the children dressed in the same clothes, which have subsequently been cleaned using Sunlight Green Clean. The cover concept is a first for Today’s Parent.

A recipe for the cookie is printed on the cover flap, while a coupon for Sunlight Green Clean is included at the bottom. In an added twist, all of the children featured in the ad are related to Sunlight Green Clean employees.

‘This was a great opportunity for Sunlight Green Clean…to tie into the holiday issue of Today’s Parent and give back to the consumer with a recipe and high-value coupon,’ Robin Attwell, account director with PHD Canada, told MiC. ‘It was more than just targeting the right consumer in the right environment; this was a perfect case where going beyond a full-page ad and developing unique creative was the right thing to do.

‘All elements tied in well together through the cookies, allowing the execution to break through and to show Sunlight Green Clean in action.’

The Sunlight Green Clean sponsorship began with Today’s Parent‘s 25th anniversary October issue, which featured a pull-out with reader and user tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle, and sponsorship of the Healthy Kids 2009 Enviroquiz at Todaysparent.com.