The move is a marked departure for the legacy Unilever brand, which consistently touts a no-nonsense “real beauty” message that bats back against unrealistic standards and toxic body talk.
The brand’s recent Super Bowl 59 commercial, a heart-tugging video called “Keep Her Confident” from Ogilvy U.K., landed among ADWEEK’s top 10 ads of the marquee sports event.
The effort closely followed a pre-game collaboration between Dove and Sports Illustrated for the latest incarnation of the ongoing “Body Confident Sport” program.
The resulting publication, dubbed Sports Reillustrated, featured profiles of young athletes from around the country, with the partners staging a rally in New Orleans with Dove ambassadors Venus Williams, Billie-Jean King, and Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall.
Meantime, Dove joins an array of brands capitalizing on the renewed interest in the seminal NBC comedy franchise. SNL’s 50th anniversary pulled in sponsors including Allstate, T-Mobile, Volkswagen of America, CeraVe, Capital One, and L’Oreal Groupe’s Maybelline NY.
