P&G & Competition

For those of you getting ready to teach micro, there is a good article in yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal. The piece outlines how Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is competing with its rivals in a period of consumer reluctance. In the past, P&G depended heavily on marketing in selling its products to the upper end of the market. But times have changed. P&G is looking to increase market share and that means cutting prices to compete with other products. And lower prices mean smaller profits.

There are all kinds of things you can do with this article, from manipulating price to show changes in supply and demand to examining consumer and producer surplus. I'm trying to consider exactly where to use this article because it fits into so many places so well. What would you do with the article? Please share your thoughts.