- Dove is putting out an open casting call for an underarm ambassador as part of its sponsorship of the 2025 U.S. Open, in line with a press release.
- The Unilever brand’s Advanced Care Antiperspirant is in search of a candidate to champion its products and supply on-the-ground creator content on the tennis tournament. Through Aug. 17, fans can submit a video on Instagram or TikTok describing why they’re a superb fit for the N.U.L. (Name, Underarm, Likeness) deal.
- The full partnership features a $10,000 sponsorship package, a 72-hour U.S. Open VIP trip with a guest, a starring role in Dove’s @DoveRealTok TikTok page and more. Parent Unilever is broadly expanding its work with influencers and content creators to modernize its marketing strategy.
Dove is spotlighting a typically unglamorous part of the body as the Official Underarm Sponsor of the U.S. Open. As part of the professional tennis tie-up, the Unilever personal care brand is enlisting a fan unafraid to indicate off their pits as an Underarm Ambassador who will generate content for social media and reap the advantages of its first N.U.L. deal, a riff on Name, Image and Likeness agreements which can be popular in college sports.
The quirky concept follows Unilever’s larger push into social media and creator content. The CPG giant plans to allocate half of its overall marketing spend to social media while ramping up work with influencers across the globe in a shift away from a TV-first approach to reaching consumers at scale.
The armpit-focused concept aligns with Dove’s long-standing commitment to celebrating all features of the body, including ones typically airbrushed over in promoting, through its “Real Beauty” platform. Dove argues that armpits are the “unsung heroes” of sport, involved in every serve, fist pump and victorious arm-raise in tennis. Dove’s Advanced Care Antiperspirant claims to supply 72-hour sweat and odor protection while being gentle on the skin.
“This isn’t nearly putting underarms on the map — we’re turning them into icons. The casting call is our unique invitation championing fans to serve looks, not sweat, and take center court in a brand new way only Dove could imagine — with the assistance of Dove Advanced Care,” said Kevin Tolson, head of Dove and SheaMoisture deodorants at Unilever, in an announcement.
Dove has embraced a social-first mindset for other recent marketing initiatives. A #ShareTheFirst effort that debuted earlier this yr was the brand’s first campaign built entirely off creator content, without additional studio work or production touches.
Around the U.S. Open last yr, Dove teamed with tennis icon Venus Williams for a soap Beauty Bar tied to its #KeepHerConfident initiative that encourages girls and young women to remain involved in sports. The product marked the brand’s first limited-edition Beauty Bar collaboration.
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