Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty won’t die, takes me down memory lane
Any news about Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty fills me with sweet nostalgia.
Unilever To Launch Dove Digital Channel
The channel will feature an editorial board of experts, guest editors and “ambassadors,” all of whom will drive conversation around today’s “burning questions”–provocative, timely and relevant topics that are central to the real beauty debate, Dove says. Women will have the opportunity to join the conversation in a positive, educational and inspiring environment . . . and can learn about products . . . .
(Here’s my burning question: how do you people sleep at night?)
It brings me back to the very first post I ever wrote, the post that got me started on the road to Parents for Ethical Marketing. Here it is, from October 2006, with updates noted.
Marketing to my daughters
Zero Boss (update 4/14/08: blog no longer exists) turned me on to the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’s film, Evolution. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look. No denying that it is pretty cool.
There’s lots of praise out there for Dove and this campaign: “It is a real eye opener and I am happy that Dove has chosen to try and break people’s warped sense of beauty. It may save lives.”
Could these corporate heads actually be concerned about the future and well being of our girls? I’m a tad skeptical of anyone who is trying to sell me something, so I looked further.
The good folks at Dove tell us that their altruistic Campaign for Real Beauty was “fueled” by the results of their 2004 study, The Real Truth About Beauty. Their next step was to commission another study, Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs.
Silvia Lagnado, global brand director for Dove:
“With this year’s Dove global study . . . we wanted to go a step further in our efforts with women globally and truly ‘walk the talk’ in helping women embrace real beauty.”
Bravo!
“The ultimate goal of this study, and associated programs launched upon its completion, is to help more women – especially young girls – to overcome and challenge harmful stereotypes and genuinely embrace healthy, authentic and positive ways of being beautiful.”
Kudos to Dove! It’s about time!
“Being a global beauty brand, we believe we have a clear responsibility to not only show different kinds of role models, but also to help the next generation – in particular young girls – to grow up without the pressure and the consequences of having to live up to unrealistic beauty ideals.”
Wonderful! Spectacu–, ah, wait a minute. Global beauty brand?
The study’s white paper explains that the research was “managed by StrategyOne – a specialist applied research firm based in New York.”
“StrategyOne adopted a rigorous, two-phased academic approach to explore and validate many assumptions about stereotypes, beauty, self-esteem and self-actualization in young girls and women.”
An academic “approach?” What exactly is an academic “approach” to research? I’m starting to sense that maybe StrategyOne is not housed at NYU.
From their website (update 4/14/08: site is now password protected):
StrategyOne
We help companies win new business.
Huh.
It gets better. Dove is owned by Unilever (NYSE:UL), makers of fine home and personal care products — for example, SLIM-FAST.
CEO Patrick Cescau, writes in their 2005 annual report:
At the start of 2005 it was clear what we had to do. We had to restore our competitiveness in the market and get the business growing again. . . . Our approach was simple . . . better execution, especially in the areas of marketing and customer management. . . .
Customer management? What about walking the talk?
From a Unilever press release for another product:
Suave(TM) Hosts the Ultimate ‘Hot Moms’ Soiree
“Beauty definitely has a place within motherhood and the truth is, when you look good, you feel better about yourself.”
Looks like Dove/Unilever has learned how to better manage their customers.
Listen, if we really want to help our daughters’ self-esteem, encourage them to use their brains when confronted by anything they see or read, especially corporate advertising. Teach them to ask the simple question: Who benefits?
Dove is supporting uniquely ME!, a self-esteem program developed by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and the Girl Scouts of the USA. They’ll donate more if you buy Dove. I’m sure it’s a fine program, but I think we should take the money we’d spend on a year’s worth of Dove products and give it to a local nonprofit whose mission is to support girls — not make money for shareholders — like the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota here in Minneapolis.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
If you buy soap - and I assume everyone does - why would you buy a non-donating brand/bad beauty message brand instead of Dove?
I get that Unilever is talking out of both sides of their mouths with Dove and Ax but I like to think that if I buy Dove because I like their beauty ideal marketing maybe they will try other positive approaches.
I also think that watching Dove’s sales skyrocket encourages Oil of Olay and other brands to role out better, more girl-positive marketing too.
With so many really horrible messages I guess I’m thrilled that one company is trying something positive and if we buy their product we’ll get more of that kind of marketing. Of course they’re doing it to make money - we live in a capitalistic society.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Slim-Fast is the least of it. Their Axe/Lynx campaigns are excruciatingly misogynistic, and Unilever are a massive purveyor of racist ads for skin-whitening creams (Pond’s White Beauty, Double White and so on), in the subcontinent and other areas of Asia.
Their Dove marketing is hardly feminist - upping the size of the models by one or two clicks is not exactly much of a concession when you’re marketing silky-smooth armpits and cellulite cream.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:59 am
@Tracee Sioux, perhaps the opposite is also true — if I don’t buy Dove maybe Unilever will reconsider some of its other horrendous marketing practices (as lauredhel points out). I think the Axe ads (among others) do more harm than the Dove brand does good.