Dove, a cosmetics company in Australia (and around the world), has been pushing a “real beauty” campaign with various billboards and posters in public transport around Oz. I remember seeing several different media throughout 2006 before I left Australia for overseas.
I just stumbled across another Dove advertisement, which I think is pure genius. Not only do they create awareness for an issue that is clearly something that needs to be highlighted as a social problem, they also enjoy the positive brand reinforcement as a result of being seen as “outting” the reality of what goes on when “beauty” is used to market products.
I for one applaud this both as a tool for raising social awareness of the issue and as a means to market female cosmetic products. For more info see the Dove Self Esteem Fund.
Dove “real beauty” campaign is a classical case of insight-driven ad that explored how a brand can address a contradiction in order to establish meaning and trigger affinity.
I have always believed that a brand is a product which has earned a place in consumers’ lives by “massaging” consumers’ ego or sense of self until a mental relationship is built.
Douglas Holt captured it better in “How brands become icon” where he advocated that brands must deliver beliefs that the consumers can use to manage the exigencies of a world that increasingly threatens their identities. Brands must become a cultural activist and a social authority
“Exploiting” the research fact that ONLY 2% of women worldwide considered themselves beautiful is a great way to become the champion of the remaining 98% using a compelling philosophy that “Real beauty come from within
Great work of all times
Thanks for sharing the information. I gave your blog a stumble and also digg it.
In addition to the Self-Esteem fund, Dove also offers materials so that women (with positive self-esteems of course) can host Dove Real Beauty Workshops in their own communities. Dove even provides training materials, a “how to” guide and handouts.
I like the comment above about insight-driven advertising. I guess it’s obvious that for Dove that strategy has certainly worked.
Hey Yaro,
This video is really a amazing video that shows, the genius of the minds of the creators.
I haven’t seen it before, but I can surely say that it is really rocking. Thanks for sharing it.
Would have liked to see this video. It has been removed
Is there another source?
Your Message
Yes dove company is so great. And they test their products on thousands and thousands of poor innocent animals a year.
Posioning them and burning their eyes as they pour their products into them.
It is time for them to resort to alternative testing but not on poor mice and rabbits and not cause unnecessary suffering and pain to these sentinal beings
If you buy these products you are supporting this brutality!!!!
Dove is owned by the same corporation (Unilever) as Axe and Slim-Fast. Isn’t it sad that this whole campaign was successful because Dove “massaged” the ego of consumers that was intiitally hurt by brands like Axe and Slim-fast? I think this is a true example of a brand that exploits their consumers sense of self.