How Unilever is pushing sports marketing beyond broadcast convention

From an “underarm ambassador” at the U.S. Open to mayonnaise-scented fragrances, the CPG marketer sees sports as a diversifying sandbox.

For marketers adrift in a sea of media fragmentation, sports have remained a dependable — if pricey — anchor, representing one of the few remaining pillars of monoculture. Look no further than the Super Bowl, which continues to draw record ratings and diverse audiences on linear TV despite the acceleration of cord-cutting.

That said, sports are as dynamic and fast-changing as other content types, and deep-pocketed companies like Unilever are adjusting their marketing strategies to recognize growing digital- and social-first consumption habits. The CPG giant’s broad spend on U.S. sports marketing nearly doubled between 2024 and this year, with further activity planned for 2026.

As part of its sponsorship of FIFA World Cup 26, for instance, Unilever’s Dove Men+Care personal care brand recently launched a campaign wherein former NFL player Marshawn Lynch attends a “super fan training camp” with U.S. soccer star Trinity Rodman, bridging two different interpretations of football with humor. The effort, running primarily on Meta and TikTok, promotes a sweepstakes to secure tickets to the highly coveted tournament, which will be played across North America starting in June.

“In principle, this is the biggest spectator event in all of history,” said Ryu Yokoi, chief media and marketing capabilities officer of Unilever personal care and North America, of the World Cup.