• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 2, 2006

Unilever's Dove brand Wednesday launched a wide-scale online initiative to promote its new body lotion, Calming Night.

For the campaign, Dove is sponsoring a new America Online microsite, and has commissioned MindShare Entertainment to create three original Webisodes starring Felicity Huffman of ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

The AOL microsite, "Chief Everything Officers," is built around the concept that women today (and men) are faced with the need to constantly multitask, which requires resourcefulness to match any corporate CEO. The site highlights AOL original programming, including its content from its Coaches section--where self-help authors offer tips on wellness and work-balance--as well as hosted content from Real Simple, Health, and All You. The site also offers budget advice and other money-saving tips through AOL Money & Finance. Additionally, AOL plans to incorporate social networking components, including message boards and blogs, into the microsite.

AOL's microsite carriers banner ads that direct visitors to the Dove Calming Night microsite. That property, DoveNight.com, offers three original webisodes directed by Penny Marshall and starring Felicity Huffman, in which Huffman dreams of appearing in classic sitcoms like "The Brady Bunch" and "Leave It to Beaver."

The shorts were produced exclusively for the Web by MindShare Entertainment and will not air on television, according to David Lang, MindShare's senior partner and director of programming. "It's a new day for online marketing," said Lang. "I think we've moved way beyond the day when streaming a repurposed TV ad on the Web sufficed."

Dove is also promoting DoveNight.com across AOL's Web properties and the broader Web, as well as print and television advertising.

AOL's last such "special," "America Takes it Off", did boost traffic as intended. Over the January campaign, for which AOL partnered with ABC's "Good Morning America," AOL experienced 22 million page views--a 128 percent increase over the next-highest month year-over-year, which was August 2005. AOL also saw a 78 percent increase in monthly unique visitors compared to next-highest month, which again was August. (AOL had not yet transitioned to a free portal in January 2005.)

For AOL, the "Chief Everything Officers" site--at AOL.com/ceo--represents a broader strategy to rally its base of modern and upwardly mobile women, and boost traffic several times per year, similar to TV networks during sweeps season.

"Like TV Sweeps, AOL is working with content and marketing partners at different points in the year to create special programming," said Tina Sharkey, senior vice president, AOL Network Programming.