Dove is running an ad in this year’s Super Bowl—quite literally.
The 30-second spot, which is set to appear in the fourth quarter, shows a three-year-old girl sprinting down a sidewalk to a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” by the singer-songwriter H.E.R. The text reads, “At 3, these legs are unstoppable. At 14, she’ll think they’re unbearable.” It’s followed by a statement that half of girls “who quit sports are criticized for their body type.”
It’s Dove’s second consecutive Super Bowl buy after last year’s ad, which broke an 18-year hiatus and also promoted the brand’s Body Confident Sport platform that features courses and tools designed to help coaches and athletes boost self-image in young girls and keep them active in middle school and beyond.
“We all know you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to really benefit from what sports can do,” Kathryn Fernandez, global brand director for Dove, told us. “Focusing on appearance over ability is what is shattering [girls’] confidence and their self esteem and preventing them from thriving in sports.”
With health and body positivity seemingly all the rage for this year’s Super Bowl advertisers, we spoke with Fernandez about how the brand is working to stand out and continuing to push its body confidence platform.
She’s running
Dove’s 2024 ad was upbeat, featuring a compilation of resilient young athletes set to the song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from the musical Annie. This year’s ad, in contrast, is more subdued, and focused on one little athlete in particular.
“She is really that joy and that spirit of being able to go outside and run and play…before you start to grow, before you start to realize [your] body changes, before you hear the outside world telling you things about your appearance,” Fernandez said.
Based on social comments and conversations Fernandez has seen since the ad dropped on Tuesday, it’s a relatable feeling. “You hear people telling you their own stories, like, ‘Oh, my God, that hits home for me. I stopped dancing when I was this age,’ or ‘I dropped out of ballet,’ or ‘I didn’t go back to swimming because somebody told me X, Y, and Z,’” she said.
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The imagery combined with nostalgic music are aimed at creating an emotional viewing experience—something Fernandez said is not unusual for Dove. “We want to make you feel and understand and help you understand the tension,” she said.
Fernandez hopes H.E.R.’s version of The Boss’s iconic song will become a “modern-day anthem” for young girls. In an interview with Billboard, H.E.R. said she wanted to add “even more soul” to “Born to Run” and through her own vocals, make it “a little more feminine.” While the Super Bowl ad features an instrumental version, a longer version featuring H.E.R.’s vocals is available to stream on the brand’s YouTube page.
“See it to be it”
In addition to the TV buy, expect to see Dove on the ground in New Orleans. Ahead of the game, the brand is hosting events with its Body Confident Collective, which includes Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, and Kylie Kelce. The brand will also distribute physical copies of the first Sports ReIllustrated magazine, created with Sports Illustrated to tell the stories of young athletes, like 10 year-old wrestler Honor Smoke.
“You have to see it to be it,” Fernandez said, quoting King. “Showcasing these amazing, young, inspiring, athletes who are breaking barriers on their own terms, embodying self confidence, playing the sports they love, and showing young kids that they can be that.”
The campaign is part of Dove’s Self-Esteem Project, which seeks to provide free resources to build young people’s self image. Fernandez said she hopes this year’s Super Bowl campaign will help the brand meet its goal of reaching 250 million young people by 2030 by speaking to adults with young girls in their lives, including parents, coaches, and mentors.
‘They need to be aware of these issues,” she said, “and be aware that they have tools and resources, so they can really make a difference in their lives.”