Unilever is spotlighting its Dove Men+Care brand with mobile advertising during its inaugural season as a sponsor of the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball Championship, running an Apple iAd campaign it claims is the first to appear on the iPad.

Unilever?s multi-year commitment with the NCAA includes Unilever?s full portfolio of men?s and women?s personal-care brands with exclusive category marketing and promotional rights related to all 88 NCAA championship events across 23 Men's and Women's sports. In addition to mobile advertising, the sponsorship also includes integrated marketing opportunities, retail placements and promotions, as well as print, online and television advertising.

?The ?Journey to Comfort? campaign features a never-before-seen look at the lives of iconic NCAA basketball personalities Magic Johnson, Bobby Hurley and John Thompson III and their journeys from birth-to-manhood and how they became comfortable in their own skin ? figuratively, and now, thanks to Dove Men + Care, literally,? said Rob Candelino, Englewood Cliffs, NJ-based marketing director of Personal Wash U.S. at Unilever.

?The NCAA corporate partnership allows the brand to utilize NCAA March Madness in a fresh, new way for Dove Men+Care and to connect to our guy?men ages 38-50?during an event they are already passionate about,? he said. ?In fact, men 25-54 are 57 percent more likely to watch the NCAA tournament than the average adult.

?Providing mobile access to Dove Men+Care?s NCAA content was critical for the brand to take advantage of consumers engaging with the tournament on two-screens.?

Journey to mobile
While the entire men?s portfolio of personal care products including Dove Men+Care, Axe, Vaseline Men, Suave Men and Degree for Men will be sponsoring the NCAA Men?s Basketball Tournament, Unilever will spotlight Dove Men+Care during its inaugural season as a sponsor.

The Dove Men + Care ?Journey to Comfort? campaign is being highlighted in a 360-degree campaign supported by advertising, public relations, promotions, mobile, digital and social media.

Some of the mobile elements include Trivia Timeout and an Apple iAd campaign appearing on the iPhone and, for the first time, the iPad.

The Trivia Timeout sweepstakes, accessible at http://dovemencare.com, lets fans ?get in the game? by answering NCAA?themed trivia questions for a chance to win prizes such as tickets to the 2012 Final Four.

The Dove Men+Care mobile site at http://m.dovemencare.com will be refreshed to provide mobile users access to Trivia Timeout and the Journey to Comfort vignettes from basketball legends Earvin ?Magic? Johnson, Bobby Hurley and John Thompson III.

?Our research has shown that the Men+Care target consumer regularly utilizes mobile devices?including smartphones and tablets?for both information and utilities,? Mr. Candelino said. ?When iAd launched in 2010, it was a first-of-its-kind innovation in mobile marketing and allowed iPhone and iPod touch users to engage with relevant, interactive, emotional video content without leaving their favorite applications.

?As one of the first brands to have the opportunity to utilize this platform, we felt it was a perfect fit to help launch our first Dove Men + Care ?Journey to Comfort? campaign featuring baseball personalities Albert Pujols, Andy Pettitte and Joe Girardi,? he said.

?The first iAd was very successful?generating great user engagement.?

The Dove Men + Care iAd running during the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament is the first-ever iAd to be featured on the iPad, per Unilever.

The iAd, which was released on March 14, showcases stories from basketball greats Mr. Johnson, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Hurley.

Dove mobile banners expand when tapped

The Dove Men+Care mobile landing page features video

Fans can also play Trivia Timeout within the mobile ad unit.

?Creating an iAd for iPad enables us to bring to life the ?Journey to Comfort? campaign in a more engaging way,? Mr. Candelino said.

Oh, oh, it's Magic

The new Dove Men+Care iAd on the iPad also features more dynamic 3D graphics and sports-centric activities, including the Dove Men+Care ?Game Day Fan Zone? that lets fans access daily game schedules and embrace school pride with iTunes downloads for many NCAA tournament college songs.

In addition to the iAd, there will be mobile advertising on the mobile-optimized version of ESPN.com driving to the Trivia Timeout experience.

?Dove Men+Care targets men whose life experiences such as professional and financial success, and fatherhood, have allowed them to reach a level of comfort in themselves, but they haven?t found a product that offers total skin comfort,? Mr. Candelino said.

?In other words, men ages 35-50 who have reached a point in their lives where they are comfortable in their skin but don?t have comfortable skin to match.?

Final Take
Ogilvy's Dove Men+Care Super Bowl ad

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