"Sweat Season" Starts Earlier this Year

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Above normal temperatures may be good news for Spring Breakers but bad news for women everywhere who worry about sweat and body odor.  In fact, a new "State of Sweat" survey by Degree Women^® reveals that although women spend more than half of a typical day being active, 43% have actually tried to move less in order to sweat less when their deodorant isn't working.

But that isn't all: When it comes to the effects body odor and sweat have on women, many report going to great lengths to ensure no one catches a bad whiff, including applying extra layers of deodorant (67%), avoiding raising their arms (62%) or washing their armpits at a sink (50%) when they've felt self-conscious about the way they smelled. Others even fess-up to raiding someone else's medicine cabinet (15%) in search of deodorant.

"Given how busy women are and how important wetness and odor protection is to them, it's amazing that 73% of women admit their current deodorant doesn't always work – but maybe that's because more than 9 in 10 deodorant users were relying on something other than Degree Women^®," notes Jennifer Daly, Degree Women^® Brand Manager at Unilever. "That is why we are pleased to offer Degree Women^® with motionSENSE™ technology in the new Linen Dry fragrance, to help women stay one step ahead of perspiration, and feel dry and confident no matter the occasion."

Other highlights from the Degree Women "State of Sweat" survey include:

Heavy Sweating, Less Petting.  If women had a deodorant to stop excessive sweating, they would be more inclined to spend more time in bed with a special someone. More than half of women admit to calling it quits early due to B.O. woes, including during sex (55%), parties (36%) and dates (26%).

Joe, err, I Mean John.  75% of women surveyed say they would be more embarrassed by B.O. than accidentally texting an ex, while 77% of women would rather call a date by the wrong name than smell badly. 

Land Your Dream Job.  You nailed the look: conservative and chic. But dressing the part is only one part of the equation. In fact, more women think having B.O. (82%) would be far worse than sitting through an interview with food in their teeth (18%).

A Taboo Topic.  More women feel comfortable telling another woman that she has toilet paper on her shoe (71%) or that her skirt is stuck into her stockings (64%), than pointing out her B.O. (7%) or sweat stains (7%).

motionSENSE^™ Makes Sense

To achieve all women need to do in a day, they need a deodorant that lasts as long as they do. That is why Degree Women^® is proud to offer the newest addition to its collection of B.O.-busters: Degree Women^® Expert Protection with motionSENSE™ in Linen Dry, which features exclusive technology that offers long lasting, constant protection to keep women fresh and confident as they move throughout their day. For maximum protection, Degree Women Clinical Protection^® with motionSENSE™ contains prescription strength wetness protection without a prescription.

Degree Women^® with motionSENSE™ is the only anti-perspirant/deodorant activated by movement first, not moisture, releasing bursts of freshness and protection all day. Every other anti-perspirant/deodorant releases fragrance upon contact with sweat. The new Linen Dry fragrance offers a clean and delicate scent combined with the breakthrough motion-activated technology, to keep women feeling constantly fresh and protected.

About Unilever North America

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180.  With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.  In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, OMO, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2010.  For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com, www.unilever.ca, or www.unilevercaribbean.com.

About the Degree Women Survey
The survey was conducted via email invitation and an online survey among 1,031 nationally representative American women ages 18 and older.  Research was conducted in December 2011 by Kelton.

Contact:

Renae Kochel
Weber Shandwick
212-445-8170
[email protected]

SOURCE Unilever