Football fans spent the 2026 World Cup crying, hugging, and showing raw emotion in the stands.
And Dove Men+Care wants them to keep expressing themselves openly now that the tournament is over.
To bring this idea to life, the Unilever-owned grooming brand partnered with Getty Images on "Portraits of Care."
The documentary photography campaign features real supporters crying, celebrating, and consoling one another during the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
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The unguarded portraits appear across digital out-of-home placements in the U.S., U.K., Spain, and Brazil.
"Football is one of the few places where men's tears are met with celebration instead of judgment," Louis Piereck, global head of brand at Dove Men+Care, said in a press release.
"'Portraits of Care' celebrates men being vulnerable while asking why this is such a big deal."
Social storytelling will continue through creator content and audience participation.
It expands Dove Men+Care's long-running effort to redefine masculinity by placing raw emotion where millions of people can see it.
Emotion on a Public Stage
Unlike polished sports advertising, "Portraits of Care" relies entirely on documentary photography.
Getty Images photographers captured supporters at fan festivals and public watch parties as they experienced victory, defeat, relief, and heartbreak.
These photographs now move into large-scale digital billboards, asking why emotional vulnerability feels acceptable inside a stadium but uncomfortable in daily life.
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"These photographs aren't staged, they're real moments that millions of fans recognize," Piereck added.
"By making those moments visible beyond the tournament, we hope to expand the conversation about how we react when men show emotion."
The media placement matters here because public visibility gives emotional well-being the same reach typically reserved for product advertising.
Purpose Marketing at a Global Scale
World Health Organization research found that men are less likely to seek help for mental health challenges.
Social expectations around self-reliance, emotional control, and masculinity often keep them from opening up.
Unilever's products reach 3.4 billion people every day across more than 190 countries.
So its brand campaigns carry the kind of distribution most mental health advocacies never get.
When a company with this footprint keeps challenging the norms, what it's saying travels far past the audience that a public health message usually finds.
Dove Men+Care has promoted healthier conversations around masculinity since 2010, so "Portraits of Care" extends a platform the brand has run for 16 years.
The campaign shows how storytelling formats can define how audiences interpret a brand's purpose.
- Authenticity earns credibility. Brands should document real behavior to create emotional trust with audiences.
- Media placement shapes perception. Teams should bring cultural conversations into public spaces to normalize behaviors that often remain private.
- Consistency strengthens purpose. Marketers should revisit the same social issue over time to build long-term brand credibility.
When brands support purpose with sustained investment, audiences are more likely to associate the message with genuine commitment.
Our Take: Does Dove Have the Right to Start the Conversation?
Many advocacy campaigns struggle because they attach themselves to social issues only when the cultural spotlight is brightest.
We see something different here. Dove Men+Care has kept returning to the subject of masculinity for nearly two decades.
We'd argue that the grooming category is exactly why the brand message holds.
Shaving and skincare are private daily rituals for men, so a grooming brand has real standing to discuss what men keep to themselves.
The product and the cause now carry the same advocacy, so the sale and the stance back each other up.
The strongest purpose-driven branding earns standing through the product itself, so the message reads as a genuine commitment.
Want to create purpose-led work that connects with audiences?
Explore these top brand strategy agencies that specialize in cultural campaigns.
