Unilever to select US agency of record for Dove

CHICAGO - Unilever is reviewing its multimillion-dollar US Dove PR account out of New York-based M Booth & Associates, its agency of record of nine years.

The review comes amid a broader agency reshuffle at the Anglo-Dutch soaps-to-soups giant in which Edelman and Weber Shandwick Worldwide have been big winners recently. Both firms were among a shortlist of four angling for the account.

Michelle Holland, Unilever's US PR director for home and personal-care brands, said, 'Dove is one of our global master brands, and we continue to look for better ways to communicate it.'

Dove is among the lynchpins of Unilever's five-year 'Path to Growth' strategy: culling low-performing brands and plowing the savings into the aggressive extension of core brands.

Recently, Dove has been stretched to skin-care and deodorant products, stealing share in those areas from P&G.

M Booth, which orchestrated Dove's recent 'Beautiful underarm' deodorant contest, continues to handle PR for Unilever's Lever 2000, Suave, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter brands.

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