Girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys, with nearly half citing low body confidence and being told they don’t have the “right” body type to play. Dove set out to confront this crisis by launching a campaign that challenged beauty standards and reshaped how young female athletes are represented. Through Sports reIllustrated, Dove aimed to create an emotionally resonant, visually bold, and action-oriented campaign that could break through the noise of one of the most saturated cultural moments of the year, Super Bowl week.
The campaign’s goals were to increase awareness of the confidence gap facing girls in sports, use a high-profile media platform to reimagine traditional sports imagery, and drive engagement with Dove’s Body Confident Sport tools, which provide practical resources for parents, coaches, and athletes. By partnering with Sports Illustrated to reimagine the iconic sports magazine with real, unretouched girls—including 10-year-old wrestler Honor Smoke, who made history as the youngest person to appear on a Sports Illustrated cover—Dove created a statement that was purposeful. The campaign sought to not only start a conversation but also to empower a movement that would ensure every girl sees herself as an athlete, just as she is.
Dove’s Sports reIllustrated was a fully integrated campaign designed to disrupt the sports media landscape with both cultural significance and emotional depth. The campaign launched during Super Bowl week, a moment known for its male-dominated narratives and idealized portrayals of athleticism and flipped the script by elevating girls who are too often unseen. The central idea was to partner with Sports Illustrated to reimagine the iconic magazine and place real, diverse, unretouched girls at the center of the story. These girls were not models or celebrities; they were athletes, including 10-year-old Honor Smoke, whose cover made headlines.
The magazine launch coincided with the debut of Dove’s Super Bowl commercial titled Keep Her Confident, which introduced the issue of girls’ body confidence and drove viewers to the brand’s Body Confident Sport resources. To amplify the Sports reIllustrated launch, Dove hosted the Sports Illustrated House in New Orleans during Super Bowl week. Media, influencers, and talent gathered to unveil the special edition and take part in panels with Dove partners Billie Jean King, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Sabrina Ionescu, and Odessa Jenkins to discuss body confidence and keeping girls in sports.
Despite the crowded Super Bowl news cycle, Dove employed a phased earned media strategy including press releases, talent interviews, and embargoed media briefings to build steady momentum. This multi-touchpoint approach allowed the story to unfold naturally over several weeks, maintaining relevance and visibility. The campaign also required navigating sensitive conversations around youth, body image, and inclusion. Dove worked closely with its Self-Esteem Project educators and the families of the young female athletes to ensure the campaign was thoughtful and empowering. The cross-functional coordination between Dove, Sports Illustrated, educators, talent, and media partners was complex, particularly as logistics had to align with magazine print deadlines, production timelines, and live event planning. Nevertheless, the team’s integrated execution ensured that every channel—broadcast, print, digital, experiential, and social—worked together to reinforce one powerful message: every body belongs in sports.
The campaign delivered measurable impact across brand perception, media reach, and social change, proving that reframing representation can drive real results. Most significantly, Dove transformed a publication historically criticized for narrow beauty standards into a platform for inclusive athletic representation—challenging systemic barriers to girls’ participation in sports while providing tangible tools through its Body Confident Sport program.
The broader campaign saw a +29 point lift in top-of-mind awareness, gaining share from key competitors like CeraVe. It also drove a 36% lift in people who “strongly agree” Dove is helping keep girls in sports, a 35% lift in those who say Dove elevates girls’ body confidence in sports, and 85% of consumers reported they would consider Dove for their next purchase after seeing the campaign.
As a key pillar of this effort, Dove Sports reIllustrated generated over 556 million earned media impressions, with more than 55 placements across high-profile outlets including People, ESPN, Good Morning America, and Refinery29. The special edition Sports Illustrated cover featuring 10-year-old Honor Smoke captured widespread attention and sparked meaningful conversation around representation in youth sports. Coverage centered the real girls’ voices and helped reframe what an athlete can look like—unretouched, confident, and true to themselves. The campaign drove engagement with Dove’s Body Confident Sport tools, moving Dove closer to its mission of reaching 250 million young people globally with self-esteem education by 2030.