Unilever Teams Up With ESPN Analyst Jesse Palmer to Help Guys Take Pride In Their Daily Grooming Routines This College Football Season

NEW program to feature Unilever men's personal care brands as Official Pregame Products of NCAA Football with unique displays in retailers nationwide.

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Unilever

Sep 15, 2014, 10:05 ET

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether it's tailgating, face painting, or wearing a lucky shirt, college football Saturday is all about taking pride in pregame rituals. However, with all the support fans show for their teams on game day, it is just as important for men to develop strong everyday grooming habits with similar enthusiasm. This September, Unilever, the leader in Men's Personal Care,^[1] and Official Pregame Products of NCAA Football, is revealing the new "Take Pride in Your Pregame" program featuring ESPN College Football Analyst and SEC Network host Jesse Palmer to help guys take pride in their everyday grooming routines.

"As a former player and current analyst, taking pride in my pregame both on and off the field has been crucial to my success," Jesse Palmer says, "what sports fans may not know is that my grooming routine is essential for my pregame preparation before a big broadcast too."

The new campaign includes pop-up displays in retailers nationwide and features products across the entire Unilever men's personal care portfolio. By creating a simplified, one-stop shopping experience where men can find all of their grooming product needs in one place, the partnership is yet another example of how Unilever is revolutionizing the way men shop. The displays are designed to help educate and encourage men to develop and maintain grooming habits and will be in stores throughout college football season.

"We know that men are becoming more sophisticated when it comes to grooming, and look for products that tailor to their specific needs." Says Matthew McCarthy, Senior Director of Men's Grooming for Unilever, "This program gives men a variety of options to choose from all in one place, and there is no better person to lead the program than Jesse Palmer, who knows about pregame grooming rituals as a player and broadcaster."

College football is as popular as ever, with over 216 million viewers tuning in to watch during the 2012 season^[2], and even more expected in 2014 with the inaugural College Football Playoff. The new Take Pride in Your Pregame program taps into this massive fan base with one of the most recognizable faces in the game, Jesse Palmer, while also simplifying the shopping experience for men by offering products for an entire grooming routine across the wide variety of Unilever men's brands.

Launching in stores nationwide in September, the Take Pride in Your Pregame program offers men grooming options from across the Unilever men's personal care portfolio, including AXE body spray, Dove Men+Care face wash, Degree deodorant sticks, Suave Men shower gel, Clear shampoo, and Vaseline skin lotion.

About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in more than 190 countries. Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. In the United States, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Simple, St. Ives, Suave, TIGI, TONI&GUY Hair Meet Wardrobe, TRESemme and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, while reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals, we have defined seven pillars, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/.

Unilever employs approximately 10,000 people in the United States – generating nearly $9 billion in sales in 2013. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com.

^[1] Third party research, April 2013 (All numbers quoted are for dollar volume)
^[2] National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

Jacob Ron/Edelman
(212) 277-3784
[email protected]

SOURCE Unilever