On behalf of Unilever, the agency negotiated the rights to an extensive brand integration and talent usage agreement for the TV programme “Ugly Betty” with Televisa and Nesound, the local producers. The agency managed 4 levels of brand integration – from creating brand story arcs, to simple product placement, to talent usage. Unilever’s presence is substantial: 6300 seconds in-show per season across the show’s 5 seasons and 400 episodes.For Dove, one storyline involved the in-show advertising agency (called “Idea Agency”) pitching Dove as a client. When there’s a disaster at the presentation, Ugly Betty saves the day by organizing a performance by the ladies in the office. This provokes a discussion of “real beauty” with the characters that also includes the deeper meanings of the Dove brand.The in-show integration was supported with specially-produced Dove TVCs featuring Ugly Betty, branded show trailers, Betty’s blog on Dove.cn, in-store promotions featuring Betty’s on-air doll, and much more.

A media solution succeeded where advertising did not: “Ugly Betty” effectively re-launched the Dove brand in China.Over 50 million viewers watched the premiere, with the program consistently rated #1 in its daypart. 3.5 million searches for “Ugly Betty” on Baidu during Season 1; millions of BBS/Blog comments; hundreds of press articles and free PR.Unaided awareness for Dove grew 75% and sales shipments almost doubled. Distributors made unsolicited requests to stock the brand and sales teams emailed for additional “Ugly Betty”-branded promotion materials.“Ugly Betty” made Dove part of the cultural conversation in a way a TVC never could.