Dwyane Wade and Jay Bilas Team Up With Dove® Men + Care™ To Add Fatherhood To The Sports Spotlight During March Madness

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Basketball greats will share a different side of themselves with sports fans throughout the NCAA^® Division I Men's Basketball tournament, thanks to Dove^® Men+Care^™.  The Unilever men's personal care brand is giving fans a look beyond free throws during March Madness^®, to show how important fatherhood is to nine-time basketball All-Star Dwyane Wade and college sports analyst Jay Bilas. Starting today, Dove^® Men+Care^™ will celebrate men who care for what matters in the NEW "Real Moments" campaign, which highlights relatable experiences from the lives of these college basketball icons. 

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60739-dove-men-care-real-moments

"This year during the tournament Dove^® Men+Care^™ will showcase moments in men's lives that really matter," said Rob Candelino, Vice President for Unilever Skincare.  "When fans learn that playing 'Defense' for Dwyane Wade means teaching his sons how to guard a mini-hoop in his living room, instead of a fellow player during a professional game, it hits home where men today place priority — caring for their family comes first."

The campaign will share what matters to Wade and Bilas off-the-court through a humorous yet personal video series, that will also highlight the superior grooming maintenance Dove^® Men+Care^™ provides men.  Featuring NEW Dove^® Men+Care^™ Face and Hair ranges designed specifically for men's needs, and new additions to existing Personal Wash and Deodorant/Antiperspirant lines, these videos will air as commercials throughout NCAA^® March Madness^® programming, as part of Unilever's multi-year NCAA^® Corporate Partnership with CBS Sports and Turner Sports.  The campaign can also be seen on DoveMenCare.com, Facebook.com\DoveMenCareUS, and www.youtube.com\dovemencareus. 

Care, Off-the-Court
The "Real Moments" campaign reveals an unexpected glimpse into Bilas's and Wade's life experiences via "how-to" formatted stories with a comedic twist.  While fans may believe that 'mastering the drive' is a basketball focused activity for Jay Bilas, what he really cares about is finding the time to sit shotgun while guiding his daughter behind the wheel. Dwyane Wade shares that the best method for 'staying in shape' is not solely about hitting the gym, but playing in a bouncy house or swimming pool with his sons.

"The real moments in my Dove^® Men+Care^™ campaign capture the joy and excitement my boys and I feel when we are all together," said Dwyane Wade. "Being a father is the most rewarding aspect of my life and my children teach me, just as much as I teach them."

March Matchups
Fans can go beyond selecting teams predicted to win the tournament with a new type of 'Bracketology' this March Madness.  Starting March 13, Dove^® Men+Care^™ will launch a series of eight online matchups that asks guys to vote between two "Tournament Tools." Tools will include experiences that can enhance basketball viewing, such as: a baby pool full of nachos, enough hot wings to fill a pickup truck, or a one-on-one interview with Jay Bilas.  Each round, fans can access analysis from Bilas to help make their voting decisions.  One fan will be chosen each round to win that week's top tool.  One lucky guy will even have the chance to take home the complete 'Tournament Toolbox' of every round's top picks, including tickets to the 2014 Final Four.  Matchup picks can be viewed and voted on at www.dovemencare.com, or by texting "MATCHUP" to 693683 (message and data rates apply).

The Authority on Man Maintenance
Dove^® Men+Care^™ provides superior grooming maintenance for men with tools designed specifically for their needs. Built on the Dove^® brand's heritage in skincare, the full Dove^® Men+Care^™ range allows men to better care for themselves so they can care for what matters most to them.  In 2013 Dove^® Men+Care^™ introduced NEW products to finally care for men's faces and hair, and continue to care for his skin and underarms.  The new Face Range is designed to care for men's skin in three steps – Cleanse, Shave and Finish – to end men's face torture during grooming.  The new hair care line includes fortifying shampoos and 2-1 shampoo and conditioners proven to make men's hair 3x stronger.  Joining the existing line of Dove^® Men+Care^™ Personal Washes are new Odor Guard Body and Face Wash, and Aqua Impact Body and Face Wash and Bar.  The Dove^® Men+Care^™ body washes and bar have skin care built in and are clinically proven to fight skin dryness better than regular men's body washes.  New to the Antiperspirant and Deodorant collection are Cool Silver Deodorants and Antiperspirants that are designed to be tough on sweat, not on skin.

NCAA Corporate Partnership
Unilever, the makers of Dove, will spotlight Dove^® Men+Care^™ during its third season as a proud partner of the NCAA^® Division I Men's Basketball Championship.  Fans will be able to check out 'Real Moments' from Wade and Bilas that show how each man cares for what matters most throughout NCAA^® March Madness^® programming in commercials airing across TBS, CBS, TNT and TruTV, as well as their online properties. As a leader in personal care, this multi-year commitment includes Unilever's full portfolio of men's and women's personal care brands with exclusive category marketing and promotional rights related to all 89 NCAA championship events across 23 Men's and Women's sports as well as integrated marketing opportunities, retail and print, promotions, online and television advertising.  As part of the 14-year multi-media agreement with the NCAA, CBS Sports and Turner Sports are licensed and collaborate on the NCAA's corporate marketing program. 

About Dove
Dove, manufactured by Unilever, is the No. 1 personal wash brand nationwide.  One in every three households uses a Dove product^[1], which includes beauty bars, body washes, face care, anti-perspirant/deodorants, body mists, hair care and styling aids. Dove Men+Care™ is the newest range of products from Dove, developed specially for men. Dove is available nationwide in food, drug and mass outlet stores.

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragu, Simple, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/ or http://www.unilever.ca/sustainable-living/.

Unilever employs more than 12,000 people across North America – generating over $10 billion in sales in 2012. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

NCAA, Final Four, March Madness and Journey to the Final Four are licensed by or trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

About Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade is a two-time professional basketball Champion (2006, 2012) and nine-time All-Star.

In 2004, he created the Wade's World Foundation, which provides support to various educational, health and family service programs, in particular those that benefit underserved communities in Miami and his hometown of Chicago.

In September 2012, Wade became a New York Times Best-Selling author, with the release of his first book, A FATHER FIRST: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball.

For more information about Dwyane Wade, contact: Amy Jacobs at [email protected] or (212) 843-8077.

Emma Frane/Edelman
(212) 277-3752
[email protected]

Stacie Bright/Unilever
[email protected]

SOURCE Unilever