Unilever Gives Birth to Baby Dove as Johnson's Tries to Bounce Back
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Unilever’s Dove and Dove Men+Care are proud parents of Baby Dove, the brand’s first major category extension since launch of the aforementioned men’s line seven years ago. The new line of baby washes, lotions and wipes kicks off with a digital video today to be followed by a broader digital, TV and #RealMoms social campaign.
Baby Dove arrives just as the category leader, the Johnson’s Baby brand, copes with declining sales and negative publicity from lawsuits claiming its baby powder is responsible for ovarian cancer in some women — something the company vigorously denies. It also comes after Unilever appears to have walked away from a reported interest in acquiring an upstart that rattled the category in recent years, Honest Co., which is now apparently off the market after hiring a new CEO. Both companies declined to comment on that.
Big brand extensions into baby bath products have been slow going in the past, even from brands with a close connection to the category. Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s Huggies discontinued its foray into bath products, and Procter & Gamble Co. sold Kandoo, an offshoot of its giant Pampers brand, to orphan-brand marketer Nehemiah Manufacturing in recent years.
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