Antiperspirant for both sexes? No sweat

Here's a job that will make you sweat.

First, create an antiperspirant for both sexes. Then design anad campaign that reaches both. The ads for women will run on TVshows that few men watch. But the ads using men must run on showsthat are watched by women as well as men. By the way, the ads can'toffend anyone.

"It is hard to be successful," acknowledges Maureen Collins,category director for Chicago-based Helene Curtis. Collins is incharge of a new marketing campaign for Curtis' Degreeanti-perspirant, a six-year-old brand.

The new campaign, which officially debuts Saturday, consists ofa National Football League sponsorship and ads featuring NFL rookiessweating it out to make their teams this season. The ad debutsduring a pre-season game on Fox between the San Diego Chargers andthe San Francisco 49ers. Later, ads featuring female doctors inmaternity wards staying cool and dry with Degree will air onnon-football shows.

Trouble is, women watch football, too. And that presented botha challenge and an opportunity for Curtis.

"The secret is to treat each gender individually," she said."In the maternity ward, we show emotional stress." And in the NFLspots, she said, players get sweaty during practice, but they alsoundergo mental stress from coaches and veteran players in trying tomake their teams - supposedly a nod to female customers.

Walking the line of an equal opportunity advertiser is a trickyone in this day of political correctness, but marketing experts saidthe NFL spots, at least, were a shrewd move for Curtis, which wastaken over by consumer products giant Unilever this year.

"It's financially less prohibitive to work with first-yearplayers than a Steve Young or Troy Aikman," said Sean Brenner, editorof Team Marketing Report, a Chicago newsletter. "Companies aretrying to attach themselves to hot properties early on."