Cannes Lions: Unilever on marketing that spreads

Speaking at Cannes Lions 2026, Barreto outlined how Unilever is reshaping its marketing approach around community participation

Brands can no longer rely on producing large volumes of content to drive growth, according to Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Leandro Barreto, who argues that marketing success increasingly depends on creating ideas that consumers choose to share.

Speaking at Cannes Lions 2026, Barreto outlined how Unilever is reshaping its marketing approach around community participation, creator collaboration and technology to build what the company calls "Desire at Scale."

Community shapes brand growth

Barreto argued that marketers should focus less on what brands want to communicate and more on creating ideas that consumers are willing to pass on through their own networks.

He cited Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty as an example of a long-running brand platform that has continued to evolve alongside changes in culture and consumer expectations since its launch in 2004.

Rather than relying solely on brand messaging, Dove has increasingly involved its community in shaping campaigns. One example was its partnership with Reddit, where the brand invited users to publish unedited reviews of its Intensive Repair 10-in-1 Serum Hair Mask. According to Unilever, sales increased by more than 100 percent year on year during the campaign, while the product became the top-selling hair mask in the United States.

Consumers expand brand meaning

Barreto also highlighted Vaseline as an example of community-led innovation.

The brand encouraged consumers to share unconventional uses for its products, with company scientists testing and verifying those that proved effective. Unilever later worked with the creators of some of the most popular ideas to develop products based on those community insights.

According to the company, Vaseline has recorded double-digit growth for three consecutive years.

Creators become collaborators

Barreto said Unilever increasingly views creators as partners in shaping brands rather than simply distribution channels.

He pointed to Hellmann's collaboration with NFL quarterback Will Levis after his social media posts featuring mayonnaise in coffee attracted widespread attention. The partnership led to the release of a mayonnaise-inspired fragrance that sold out in less than a minute, while generating more than 10 billion online impressions.

He also highlighted the Dirt Is Good partnership with Arsenal Women, which has expanded beyond sponsorship into campaigns addressing issues such as period stigma and the participation gap in women's sport. According to Unilever, Persil recorded a 13 percent year-on-year increase in usage among consumers aware of the partnership, alongside 6 percent growth among supporters of rival football clubs.

Technology supports brand building

Alongside community engagement, Barreto said technology plays an increasingly important role in scaling marketing activity.

Unilever has increased investment in brand building, retail marketing and omnichannel activation to approximately 15 percent of turnover, its highest level in more than a decade.

The company is also using AI-powered production tools to improve efficiency. According to Barreto, digital twins enable product imagery to be produced at twice the speed and half the cost, while AI Studios deliver marketing content 30 percent faster and have doubled click-through rates.

Barreto said these investments contributed to Unilever's first-quarter 2026 performance, with the company's Power Brands reporting underlying sales growth of 5 percent and volume growth of 4 percent.

Creativity and technology must work together

Barreto concluded that successful marketing depends on combining compelling brand ideas with the systems needed to distribute and optimise them at scale.

Leandro Barreto, Chief Marketing Officer, Unilever: "Marketing today is about building something worth repeating. And building trust so that people want to pass it on."