Behind Unilever’s ‘Black Men Love’ campaign for SheaMoisture that challenges stereotypes

“A big part of our mission is to overserve the underserved,” said SheaMoisture Chief Marketing Officer Taydra Mitchell Jackson. Men probably account for about 40% of the brand’s broader business; that business has tripled since a relaunch of the men’s business in 2019 with new packaging, better formulations and expanded offerings, she said.

Look back: SheaMoisture showcases Black women’s diversity

“Now we are really looking at how we can drive a different kind of conversation with men, as we think about the evolution we’re seeing in terms of self-care, the evolution of how they show up and are willing to express themselves,” Jackson said.

The “Black Men Love” effort includes a digital content series of short video vignettes celebrating ways Black men show love, directed by Dominique DeLeon and produced by Durable Goods.

“This is really the convergence of two conversations happening around Black men,” Jackson said. One around the perceptions of Black men, and another around an increased focus on self-care as part of mental health.

“We’ve seen a historical conversation when you look at how Black male masculinity has been defined in society. You see at times negative stereotypes, a very homogenous view of Black men,” she said, with “George Floyd kind of being that symbol.”

The campaign aims to “help build that narrative from a single, homogenous point of view to a more positive view,” she said.

Coupled with that, she said, is that “we’re now seeing men, Black men in particular, having different conversations post-COVID, where people were able to reflect and get more in touch with themselves,” Jackson said. “We’re now seeing a different level of vulnerability, where men are looking at self-care and what self-care means for them. Wellness has become a really important conversation for men’s mental health.”

The campaign is being done in partnership with the groups Black Men Heal, Black Men Smile and The Black Man Can, encompassing elements beyond the video series, which will play out in organic and paid social media work across SheaMoisture’s social platforms and a series of events.

Those began with pop-up events in New York and Los Angeles last weekend where SheaMoisture gave Black men on the street roses and love letters in front of large flower wall murals bearing the slogan “Show Black Men Love.” The New York pop-up was near the famous Denny Moe’s Superstar Barbershop, and the Los Angeles event at the All Chill Hip Hop Ice Cream Shop.

The campaign will also include weekly motivational affirmations written by Black male leaders and shared across SheaMoisture Men’s social channels, plus wellness events and closed-door roundtables for Black men to promote dialog centered on their experiences, Black masculinity and how love influences their roles.

Giving Black men flowers at the initial events had symbolic importance on a couple of levels, Jackson said.

“We were wanting to ensure we could give people their flowers while they can receive them,” she said, “going back to the negative stereotypes people might associate with flowers,” which would include flowers given in hospitals or at funerals. “We don’t want to amplify that part of the conversation, but it’s a very real discussion,” she said.

Beyond that, it’s not common for men to receive flowers, she said, “but flowers are a very real symbol of love … And I can tell you that men’s faces lit up when we offered them a flower.”