How Multi-Tasking Melo, Durant, Lolo Jones, Alex Morgan Do More To A Degree
By Barry Janoff
March 12, 2013: In addition to being high-profile athletes, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Lolo Jones and Alex Morgan now have something else in common: They are all part of the Degree with MotionSense deodorant marketing campaign, which urges athletes and non-athletes alike to Do:More.
The effort, breaking this week across multiple platforms, crosses gender lines by showing both male and female athletes working hard, getting sweaty and striving for their goals with aid of the same Degree with MotionSense product.
The initial push is anchored by four TV spots, one with each of the lead spokespersons, who have all stepped out of their sports comfort zone to enhance themselves. Anthony, of the NBA's New York Knicks, shares how is incorporating boxing into his physical routine. Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder takes long bike rides to challenge himself.
Morgan, a forward/striker on the U.S. National women's team that won gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics and finished second in the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011, is mastering paddle boarding when not on the soccer pitch. And Lolo Jones, a track & field star who competed in the 2012 Summer Games, last year was named to the U.S. National Bobsled team that is seeking a place in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
A supporting element on YouTube shows people hang gliding, parasailing and other extreme sports.
Each spot ends with the tagline, "Degree: It won't let you down." Degree is a division of Unilever.
"The Degree Do:More campaign hopes to inspire and empower people to push themselves further and to be the best at what they do," Gaston Vaneri, senior marketing director for Unilever North America, said in a statement. "We were thrilled to partner with elite athletes that are doing just that, challenging themselves to do more of what they love and provide a product like Degree with MotionSense, that keeps them protected and won't let them down as they push boundaries."
In his spot, Anthony is seen on the basketball court, and then in a boxing venue."There's nothing I want more than a championship," he says. "That's what I think about in the gym. Day after day. And I'm always looking for an edge. That's why I started boxing. By the time April-May comes around, some guys are getting tired. Me, I'm just looking for the next round.
(See the full commercial here.)
Durant is also seen on the hoops court, but he then gets on a bike for an extend trek. "I work hard on my game," he explains. "I want to dominate on both ends of the floor. But that takes a different kind of endurance. More than just wind sprints. That's why I started biking. I wanted to push myself. There is no team to fall back on. Out here, it's just me against my own will.
(See the full commercial here.)
Morgan shows how she has added a new challenge to her life by going from kicking soccer balls to hitting the ocean. "When I'm on the soccer field, I feel as if I can do anything. The sky's the limit. For me, that goes beyond soccer. When I'm not on the soccer field, I'm in the ocean, paddle boarding. If you're not sweating, you're not working hard enough."
(See the full spot here.)
Jones, who has won several gold medals during international track & field tournaments, relates in her commercial how coming up short in medals in London, where she placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, did not damper her competitive drive. "My dream didn't end in London. I'm a competitor. I'm racing people when I'm walking next to them. You go into a sport not to be average. You go in to dominate. For me, it's the same with bobsledding. I want to win a medal [in 2014].I don't just run track. I do more. Bobsledding."
(See the full spot here.)
Degree has re-divided the genders on social media, encouraging men and women to show how they can Do:More, and also has behind-the-scenes footage of the commercials with Anthony, Durant, Mogran and Jones.
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