Dove Men+Care is partnering with fitness app Strava to help relaunch its reformulated 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner product line, betting that a social-first, fitness-anchored campaign will win over a grooming audience increasingly shaped by online culture.
A Fitness Challenge at the Center
The activation is built around the “Any Step Counts” challenge, which encourages Strava users to complete a 5K run, either all at once or over several activities, by July 21. The reward is tangible: participants who finish by the deadline earn a Dove Men+Care 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner reward.
Momentum is already visible. The challenge had over 16,000 participants as of Thursday afternoon, incentivizing users to try the product reformulated with Dove Men+Care’s Protein Power Technology.
Creators and Earned Media
The Strava push doesn’t stand alone. It sits inside a larger campaign featuring creator partnerships, social media content and earned media, with TV personality and entrepreneur Kyle Cooke serving as the face of the campaign to encourage participation and awareness. Behind the work are three agencies: Edelman, Collectively and Unite.
The strategic logic is straightforward. The partnership is meant to associate grooming with fitness routines and emphasize the importance of steady habits, linking product usage to the discipline of a workout streak.
Why the Timing Works
The category tailwind is real. The men’s grooming space has seen significant growth in recent years, especially among Gen Z men, largely due to social media. The spending gap is striking: over 40% of Gen Z men say they dedicate “large shares” of their income to grooming, compared to 29% of millennials, per Barclays data cited by Glossy.
Part of Unilever’s Sports Playbook
For parent company Unilever, this is a pattern, not a one-off. Unilever has made sports and influencers central parts of its marketing strategy, recently activating over 35 of its brands, including Dove Men+Care, around the World Cup with influencer collaborations and in-person experiences.
Dove Men+Care itself launched a new global platform, “Care for Your Skin Like You Care for the Game,” to tap into global soccer fandom ahead of the tournament. Sister brand Axe joined in too, activating around the World Cup with a TikTok sweepstakes.
A Proven Channel
Strava is a familiar partner for brands. It has previously teamed with Celsius to create running clubs in F1 race locations, with Chipotle on a New Year’s resolution fitness challenge, and with Clif Bar on an athlete-performance activation. For Dove Men+Care, that track record offers a built-in, habit-driven audience, exactly the behavior the brand wants to attach to its reformulated shampoo.
