Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
Encyclopedia
The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched in 2004 that includes advertisements, video, workshops, sleepover events and even the publication of a book and the production of a play. The principle behind the campaign is to celebrate the natural physical variation embodied by all women and inspire them to have the confidence to be comfortable with themselves. Dove's partners in the effort include such marketing and communications agencies as Ogilvy & Mather, Edelman Public Relations, and Harbinger Communications (in Canada).
The launch campaign featured women of different shapes and sizes recruited in a number of ways; one was approached in the street, another answered an ad which was placed in a local South London newspaper.
who has made a career out of subverting fashion photography and who has also produced several books featuring ordinary-looking people.
Ogilvy's London office chose Rankin because he brings out the character and personality of his subjects and he likes working with non-professional models. Dove wanted to celebrate women by using a photographer who also shoots supermodels, giving them the same star treatment. Rankin shot the follow-up campaign for Dove as well.
One billboard
in the series asked viewers to phone 1-888-342-DOVE to vote on whether a woman on the billboard was "fat
" or "fab". The results were posted real-time on the board. While a photo in the October 25, 2004 issue of Marketing Magazine shows "fab" leading 51% to 49%, eventually the percentage of "fat" votes overtook "fab", much to the chagrin of marketers.
This campaign has also spurred on a phenomenon whereby attractive women with bodies that better reflect 95% of the female population are referred to as Dove Beauties
.
As part of this campaign, in 2006, Dove started the Dove Self-Esteem Fund that claims to change the Western concept of beauty from ultra-thin models with "perfect" features to making every girl (and woman) feel positive about her looks.. In an effort to promote the Fund, Dove ordered a series of highly-successful online-based short films promoting the self-esteem concept, which to date includes Daughters (which also aired as a 75-second television spot suring the Super Bowl XL
), Evolution
(which went on to win a number of honours, including two Cannes Lions
Grand Prix awards), Onslaught
, and Amy.
The campaign has been criticized on the grounds that Unilever also produces Fair and Lovely, a skin-lightening product marketed at dark-skinned women in several countries. http://www.mcclungs.ca/w2008/13.html It was also widely noted that Unilever brand Lynx's advertising campaign would seemingly contradict the sentiment of the Campaign for Real Beauty. Not to mention the fact that Unilever also owns and markets their AXE brand of deodorants, where overtly sexualized women are its campaigning staple. This appears to be starkly hypocritical - in contrast to Dove's campaign - as Unilever utilizes "idealized" female sexuality to market AXE products towards young men.
Greenpeace has campaigned that "Unilever, the makers of Dove, is buying palm oil from companies that are destroying valuable rainforest and peatland areas, which is bad news not only for the millions of people who depend on them for their way of life and endangered species such as the orang-utan, but also for the global climate."
The launch campaign featured women of different shapes and sizes recruited in a number of ways; one was approached in the street, another answered an ad which was placed in a local South London newspaper.
The campaign
The campaign was shot by the British portrait/fashion photographer RankinRankin (photographer)
John Rankin Waddell, working name Rankin, born 1966, is a British portrait and fashion photographer.-Life and career:Waddell was brought up in St Albans, Hertfordshire. At the age of 21, whilst studying accounting at Brighton Polytechnic, he realized that his interests lay elsewhere and dropped...
who has made a career out of subverting fashion photography and who has also produced several books featuring ordinary-looking people.
Ogilvy's London office chose Rankin because he brings out the character and personality of his subjects and he likes working with non-professional models. Dove wanted to celebrate women by using a photographer who also shoots supermodels, giving them the same star treatment. Rankin shot the follow-up campaign for Dove as well.
One billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
in the series asked viewers to phone 1-888-342-DOVE to vote on whether a woman on the billboard was "fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
" or "fab". The results were posted real-time on the board. While a photo in the October 25, 2004 issue of Marketing Magazine shows "fab" leading 51% to 49%, eventually the percentage of "fat" votes overtook "fab", much to the chagrin of marketers.
This campaign has also spurred on a phenomenon whereby attractive women with bodies that better reflect 95% of the female population are referred to as Dove Beauties
Dove Beauties
In 2004, Dove, a large company in the health product and beauty sector, released a series of print and television ads featuring happy-looking, lingerie-clad women with "everyday" looks...
.
As part of this campaign, in 2006, Dove started the Dove Self-Esteem Fund that claims to change the Western concept of beauty from ultra-thin models with "perfect" features to making every girl (and woman) feel positive about her looks.. In an effort to promote the Fund, Dove ordered a series of highly-successful online-based short films promoting the self-esteem concept, which to date includes Daughters (which also aired as a 75-second television spot suring the Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
), Evolution
Evolution (Dove)
Evolution is an advertising campaign launched by Unilever in 2006 as part of its Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, to promote the newly created Dove Self-Esteem Fund. The centre of the Unilever campaign is a 75-second spot produced by Ogilvy & Mather in Toronto, Canada...
(which went on to win a number of honours, including two Cannes Lions
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
Grand Prix awards), Onslaught
Onslaught (Dove)
Onslaught is an online advertising campaign created by Unilever in 2007 to promote the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. It is the third such piece to be released, following Daughters and Evolution. As with the previous spots, the 80-second spot was managed by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather and was...
, and Amy.
The campaign has been criticized on the grounds that Unilever also produces Fair and Lovely, a skin-lightening product marketed at dark-skinned women in several countries. http://www.mcclungs.ca/w2008/13.html It was also widely noted that Unilever brand Lynx's advertising campaign would seemingly contradict the sentiment of the Campaign for Real Beauty. Not to mention the fact that Unilever also owns and markets their AXE brand of deodorants, where overtly sexualized women are its campaigning staple. This appears to be starkly hypocritical - in contrast to Dove's campaign - as Unilever utilizes "idealized" female sexuality to market AXE products towards young men.
Greenpeace has campaigned that "Unilever, the makers of Dove, is buying palm oil from companies that are destroying valuable rainforest and peatland areas, which is bad news not only for the millions of people who depend on them for their way of life and endangered species such as the orang-utan, but also for the global climate."