Dove in 2010 came back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2006, when it brought the “Campaign for Real Beauty" to advertising's biggest stage ("Little Girls"). This time the goal was harder: selling a men’s line from a brand long associated with products for women.
Ahead of the game, Dove described its brand extension as aimed at men who want soaps that don’t irritate, and the ad by Ogilvy & Mather delivered, but with, well, a soft-soap sell. Most Super Bowl XLIV ads were designed as if guys would never admit to desiring anything like that, at least not as much as a Charger (Dodge, "Man's Last Stand"), or “the pants” (Dockers, "Men Without Pants").
Dove Men would soon confront viral-video sensation “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” the Isaiah Mustafa-starring juggernaut out of Wieden & Kennedy for Old Spice starting that February, but it went on to become an established and respected presence in the men’s care aisle.
The product line didn’t return to the Super Bowl, however, until the so-called "Dad Bowl" of 2015 ("Real Strength").
Director: Fredrik Bond. Production company: MJZ.
BRAND: Dove Men
YEAR: 2010
AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather
SUPERBOWL: XLIV
QUARTER AIRED: Q2
