Dove amplifies winning marketing message through continued women’s sports campaigns

The GIST: Last week, Dove rolled out its latest women’s sports campaign, “#ChangeTheCompliment,” by activating with NSL team AFC Toronto for its October 19th playoff game. The brand, which has spent years building women’s confidence with diverse representations of beauty, is seizing open opportunities in women’s sports — and for good reason.

• Dove is focused on reaching younger generations of girls and building their body confidence, a strategy that has already had considerable impact on older generations. Women athletes naturally ooze authenticity, which is why Dove and like-minded brands may want in on the game. Spreading their wings.

The partnerships: In 2023, Dove teamed up with Nike to launch Body Confident Sport, a program using research-backed coaching tools to support girls in sports. This February, the brand inked a record NWSL back-of-kit jersey deal via its multiyear Gotham FC partnership, which also made Dove the presenting sponsor of the team’s “Keep Her In The Game” initiative and its Rebel Girls book.

• Dove is big on building confidence with inspirational athletes: The “#ChangeTheCompliment” campaign had soccer players choose powerful adjectives that resonated with them, while athlete icons like Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, and Kylie Kelce are part of its Body Confident Collective.

Dove’s story: Dove has been a longtime soap brand, but in the mid-2000s, it wanted to expand further into beauty. In 2004, the company commissioned a study that found only 2% of women consider themselves to be beautiful, and Dove saw a prime marketing angle, launching its authentic “Real Beauty” campaign in association with its new offerings.

• Dove has built an empire on that identity, with sales increasing from $2.5B to $4B in the decade after its 2004 launch. As of 2025, “Real Beauty” has reached over 82M young people in 150 countries, and a 2009 study found 76% of campaign viewers saw the women in it as beautiful, with 68% saying the ads made them think differently about Dove.

Zooming out: In the golden age of women’s sports, Dove has unique positioning to expand on its messaging to encourage body positivity, especially in sports. This issue influences young girls to drop out of sports at higher rates than boys and affects women college athletes, which is why women stars promoting self-love draw devoted audiences with body-positive affirmations.

• And while supporting self-esteem achieves social good, it’s also key for Dove to stay on message for a new generation. Gen Alpha is already big on beauty, but inclusive representation is also a core value, with about 63% in one survey stating its importance. All you need is Dove.