How Unilever Used AI to Make Soap Go Viral and What Marketers Can Take from It

Soap isn’t usually the kind of product that lights up social media. But in 2025, Unilever changed that narrative completely.

By partnering with Crumbl Cookies, they created a cookie-scented Dove body care line that didn’t just surprise people, it went viral. And it wasn’t a lucky accident. From product development to influencer selection and creative production, artificial intelligence helped steer the entire campaign.

In the end, it pulled in over 3.5 billion impressions, with 52% of buyers being new to Dove, and made a huge splash across TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit. So how exactly did they do it, and what can you take from their playbook?

The product was fun, but the launch was sharp

The Dove x Crumbl drop was playful. Scents like Confetti Cake and Strawberry Crumb Cake turned body wash into something that felt collectible. But Unilever didn’t blast this out through traditional channels. Instead, they started small.

Leaked hints, private messages to superfans, and casual Reddit chatter kicked things off. The brand leaned into low-key curiosity. Instagram stories teased the launch. Influencers dropped cryptic hints. Within days, the internet was asking if it was real, and that was exactly the plan.

Behind the scenes, AI was doing the heavy lifting

Unilever used Nvidia’s Omniverse platform to create highly realistic digital versions of every Dove x Crumbl product. These digital twins didn’t just look good, they helped automate content production by feeding into Unilever’s in-house AI Content Studio, which had launched in 2023.

With AI in the driver’s seat, the team was generating thousands of content variations every week. Think social posts, product photos, captions, packaging animations, and even influencer briefings, all adjusted for tone, style, and target audience.

Before this setup, producing that volume of creative would have taken a full team weeks, if not months.

Influencers were chosen for connection, not clout

Unilever didn’t throw money at big celebrity creators. Instead, they focused on mid-tier influencers with loyal audiences and strong engagement. This wasn’t about scale. It was about fit.

Their AI tools scanned for creators whose voice matched the playful tone of the campaign. One TikToker, known for quirky recipe content, blended Dove’s body wash into a baking-style video. It hit 14 million views in just a few days.

This level of cultural crossover wasn’t forced, it felt native to the audience, which made it stick.

The campaign evolved in real time

This wasn’t a case of “launch it and wait.” The team used AI to track emotional reactions, keyword spikes, and post-level performance across platforms.

When terms like “smells like nostalgia” started trending in comment sections, the content shifted. Captions were rewritten. Visuals were swapped. Hashtags adjusted. All of it happened while the campaign was still live, keeping it fresh and perfectly timed to audience sentiment.

This feedback loop allowed Unilever to amplify what was working and quietly drop what wasn’t.

The results were hard to ignore

Let’s look at what they achieved:

• Over 3.5 billion impressions across TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and other major platforms

• 52% of buyers were completely new to the Dove brand, showing strong pull beyond existing customers

• The product went viral across multiple channels at once, becoming one of the most talked-about personal care launches of the year

• Gen Z purchase intent jumped by 13 percentage points among people who hadn’t previously bought Dove

• It became Dove’s most successful product launch to date, hitting monthly sales targets in just a few days

  
  

It wasn’t just a viral moment; it was a measurable business win.

What marketers should take away from this

This campaign isn’t about copying Dove or launching cookie-scented soap. It’s about understanding what made it work and applying those lessons to your own brand or client campaigns.

Start conversations before the launch. The real campaign began weeks before anyone saw an ad.

Smaller creators can outperform big ones. Connection often beats reach, especially with Gen Z.

Let your campaigns evolve. Build in feedback loops so you can adjust while things are still happening.

AI should support your ideas, not replace them. Technology can help scale your vision, but it still needs a human heartbeat.

Final thought

Unilever didn’t go viral by chance. They built a system where creativity, data, and technology worked side by side. This campaign offers a clear message to marketers: emotional insight, cultural timing, and flexibility still matter, and now we have better tools than ever to act on them.

Whether or not you want to replicate what Dove did, it’s worth studying how they did it. Because the bar for digital marketing is no longer just about being seen. It’s about being shared, talked about, and remembered.