Unilever Scrubs Up Dove Online Video Promotion
(Promo Xtra) Unilever is using a videoblog and a create-your-own-commercial contest to support it’s latest Dove product debut.
Unilever is launching Dove Cream Oil Body Wash with a contest inviting consumers to create a 30-second TV spot for the new product. The winning spot will air during the Feb. 25 Academy Awards; the creator wins a trip to Los Angeles for a private viewing party of the awards and an Oscar after-party. (Two finalists also win a trip to Los Angeles for the viewing party; 10 semi-finalists each win a Dove-branded robe and tote bag and Dove products.)
The contest is getting a boost from a videoblog called “Starring Amanda Congdon,” written by an actress who is also the co-president of Oxmour Entertainment.
On her site, starringamandacongdon.com, Congdon asked viewers to collaborate on ideas for a 15-second commercial, which she will star in. The contest runs through Jan. 15, and the new body wash debuts nationally in February.
“Amanda’s experience in the videoblogging space makes her an excellent fit for a consumer-generated video campaign,” said Babs Rangaiah, Unilever’s USA director of media and entertainment. “It allows us to tap into her viewership, which includes a large number of content creators.”
This isn’t Dove’s first foray into online video this year. A one-minute commercial for the brand, “Evolution,” has drawn at least 200,000 views on YouTube and spawned at least one spoof, “Slob Evolution,” on the video-sharing site. Dove’s video, which shows an ordinary-looking model going through a time-elapsed makeover, including airbrushing, before having her photo posted on a billboard, promotes the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls, run by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund.
