Edelman
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Category: Redesign/Rebrand
Title: Shower Sensors
Award: 2025 Best of Category
Client: Unilever (Dove)
Project Description: Dove has long been known for moisturizing body wash but was facing fresh competition in an increasingly crowded aisle. To reinforce its leadership through innovation, the team looked at real shower behavior and found a problem hiding in plain sight: in winter, many Canadians take showers so hot they can damage the skin’s moisture barrier, yet there is no temperature warning in the bathroom.
Shower Sensor is a limited-edition Dove Deep Moisture body wash with a label that reacts to water at 40°C. Using two layers of overlapping ink, the heat-sensitive top layer disappears when water becomes too hot, revealing a “VERY HOT” icon underneath so people know when to turn the temperature down. The innovation launched at a hot-and-cold therapy wellness centre in February, where beauty creators, media, Dove R&D experts, and a board-certified dermatologist experienced the transformation live before the product became available through Unilever’s online store.
The campaign drove nearly 25,000 visits to the landing page and delivered a double-digit year-over-year lift in Dove body wash sales, supported by extensive earned and influencer coverage. In total, Shower Sensor generated well over 100 million potential impressions with 100 percent key-message pull-through and entirely positive or neutral sentiment, outperforming all original KPIs.
Credits
- Unilever (Dove) – Client
- Judy John – Global Chief Creative Officer, Edelman
- Anthony Chelvanathan – Global Creative Partner, Chief Creative Officer Canada, Edelman
- Natee Likitsuwankool – VP Creative Director, Edelman
- Mike Lo Nam – VP Creative Director, Edelman
- Shauna Roe – VP Creative Director, Edelman
