UNILEVER PERSONAL CARE has launched its biggest-ever sports partnership as Official Personal Care Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
More than 35 brands, including Dove, Dove Men+Care, Rexona, and Axe, will activate in over 120 markets throughout the 39-day tournament, which features 104 matches among 48 teams and is expected to reach a global audience of 6 billion.
The sponsorship aims to turn global visibility into commercial impact for Unilever’s Personal Care portfolio.
Unilever Personal Care’s vice president of Integrated Brand Experience, Afke van de Klashorst, said: “This activation reflects how we’re engaging with sport not just as sponsorship, but as a platform to build brand desire and cultural relevance to drive superior growth.”
Unilever is moving beyond traditional media spend, using influencer networks, content creators, and social-first storytelling to engage fan culture and online conversations.
“Our ambition is for our brands to show up in spaces where fandom lives and in ways that are authentic, native to social, and meaningful by bringing freshness and confidence to match-day moments that matter most for fans, players, and spectators,” Afke added.
Unilever’s four key brands are activating around distinct campaign platforms:
· Dove — The #KeepHerConfident campaign, titled “The Game is Ours”, champions female football fans and players through a social-first film built from the sounds of girls playing the sport, running across social media and out-of-home.
· Dove Men+Care — The campaign invites men to care for their skin through the physical and emotional demands of match day, from sweat and hugs to last-minute penalties.
· Rexona — Built around its 24/7 odour protection promise, Rexona’s activation centres on a simple message: it won’t let you down through the highs and lows of the tournament.
· Axe — The campaign uses humour to celebrate grassroots fandom, featuring real supporters, their dedication, and questionable costumes, while keeping the focus on smelling good.
FIFA chief business officer Romy Gai noted: “Football today lives in real time, in culture and on social platforms. And this tournament is designed to be experienced, shaped, and shared by fans wherever they are.”
Unilever has built House of Fresh, experiential creator hubs in Mexico City, New York, and Miami, designed for social-feed-ready content creation. Alongside this, The Locker Room is a 24/7 social media hub where creators and football strategists deliver reactive content across TikTok and YouTube in real time.
“Working with partners like Unilever helps turn moments on the pitch into meaningful conversations off it, reaching new generations and making the power of football more accessible, inclusive, and impactful than ever before,” says Romy.
Unilever’s AI Content Studio and Social Studios created over 18,000 assets across 120 multi-brand, multi-market campaigns, while AI-driven supply chain forecasting has been used to manage production cut-offs for 180 limited-edition products across global markets.
