Global consumer packaged goods giant Unilever has had a productive year thus far. Last month, it announced its business results for the first half of 2024. They included an underlying sales growth of 4.1%, with volumes up 2.6%, according to CEO Hein Schumacher. “Underlying sales grew 4.1%, driven by a third consecutive quarter of positive, improving volume growth, while pricing continued to moderate in line with our expectations. Strong gross margin progression fuelled increased investment behind our innovations, and resulted in a step-up of our profitability.”

Unilever, which became a Hacienda tenant in March 2003, was recognized earlier in the year as Creative Marketer of the Year by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The honorary accolade is presented to a marketer that has amassed a body of iconic, Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time, with Unilever establishing a reputation for producing brave, creative, and innovative marketing solutions.

Last honored as Creative Marketer of the Year in 2010, Unilever has since amassed hundreds of Lions across a number of its brands. They include Dove, Hellmann’s, Dirt Is Good (known as Persil, Skip and OMO), Magnum, Vaseline, Marmite, and Pot Noodle. In 2023, Unilever’s largest brand, Dove, was awarded the Media Lions Grand Prix for its #TurnYourBack campaign, which was deemed by Media Lions Jury President, Christian Juhl, to be “a timely example of how our industry can use the power of media to protect young people and empower them to reject the pressure they feel to conform to artificial standards and be confident in their true, unfiltered selves.”

Dove’s inclusive beauty mission was first launched through its 2004 campaign Real Beauty, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Since then, the brand has been a trailblazer in demonstrating how marketing can drive impressive commercial results. Today, Dove continues to champion real-world change, including through the introduction of the U.S. CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, which makes race-based hair discrimination illegal. First passed into law in 2019, there are now 24 states with this legislation in place.

Unilever brand Hellmann’s also continues to stand out in culture through the brand’s Make Taste, Not Waste creative platform, highlighting its long-standing mission to help people tackle food waste in the kitchen, most recently with the help of Mayo Cat at the Big Game. With the same humorous tone, Hellmann’s Mayo McHack campaign taught Brits how to “hack" the missing mayo item on a famous restaurant chain’s menu, picking up two Silver Lions in PR and Brand Experience & Activation last year.

These award-winning campaigns are testament to the company’s commitment to creativity. “This award is about recognising and celebrating those brands that are consistently delivering work that raises the bar for creative excellence across the global creative communications industry,” according to Simon Cook, Lions CEO. “Unilever is pushing the creative boundaries consistently and continuously across a wide range of brands from different markets, in collaboration with a breadth of agency partners, demonstrating a clear understanding and commitment to the power of creativity as a driver for progress and growth.”

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