Dive Brief:

• Dove is putting out an open casting call for an underarm ambassador as part of its sponsorship of the 2025 U.S. Open, according to a press release. 
• The Unilever brand’s Advanced Care Antiperspirant is seeking a candidate to champion its products and provide on-the-ground creator content at the tennis tournament. Through Aug. 17, fans can submit a video on Instagram or TikTok describing why they’re a good fit for the N.U.L. (Name, Underarm, Likeness) deal. 
• The full partnership includes 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.  

Dive Insight:

Dove is spotlighting a typically unglamorous part of the body as the Official Underarm Sponsor of the U.S. Open. As part of the pro tennis tie-up, the Unilever personal care brand is enlisting a fan unafraid to show off their pits as an Underarm Ambassador who will generate content for social media and reap the benefits of its first N.U.L. deal, a riff on Name, Image and Likeness agreements that are 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 around 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 aspects of the body, including ones typically airbrushed over in advertising, 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 offer 72-hour sweat and odor protection while being gentle on the skin.

“This isn’t just about 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 new way only Dove could imagine — with the help of Dove Advanced Care,” said Kevin Tolson, head of Dove and SheaMoisture deodorants at Unilever, in a statement.

Dove has embraced a social-first mindset for other recent marketing initiatives. A #ShareTheFirst effort that debuted earlier this year was the brand’s first campaign built entirely off creator content, without additional studio work or production touches.

Around the U.S. Open last year, Dove teamed with tennis icon Venus Williams for a soap Beauty Bar tied to its #KeepHerConfident initiative that encourages girls and young women to stay involved in sports. The product marked the brand’s first limited-edition Beauty Bar collaboration.