"Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty"

“Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty”

By: Cathleen Shelby

(Image taken from the official Dove web page.)

From young girls to old women, much is expected in terms of what society has labeled beauty. This unrealistic view of what is “beautiful” has left many women feeling as if they are falling short of society’s demands. After a global study conducted by Dove, called “The Real Truth about Beauty: A World Report,” Dove learned that women now view beauty as something that is near impossible to attain. To change this negative cycle, Dove launched a campaign to alter this caustic reality. In 2004, “Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty” began, hoping to help girls learn to love themselves the way they naturally are.

The Dove campaign had several phases in which Dove worked with other partners, including: Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Girls Inc. Together, Dove and their partners aimed to raise the amount of self esteem women, particularly young girls, have for themselves.

The main topics in this campaign are self-esteem and body image. The target public focuses mainly on young girls, but is for all women in general.

There were many strategies used in this campaign. One of the first strategies was using everyday women with bodies of different shapes and sizes to be the models for the campaign. This advertisement projected these women, who were not society’s ideal “beauties,” laughing and appearing happy and comfortable in their own skin. The campaign included television and print advertisements, videos, and workshops all based on revealing issues with body image and how to fix them.

Dove also has created a self-esteem fund, so that every product that is bought, some of the money goes to the fund. The fund sponsors programs that teach young women how to deal with body issues and ways to maintain good self-esteem.

Campaign for Real Beauty

By Kristin Biery

DOVE body wash created a new campaign in 2004 that has gained a lot of publicity---the Campaign for Real Beauty. The campaign shows women of different ages, ethnicity and weight to show that there is not a single standard of beauty.

According to the DOVE Campaign for Real Beauty “only 2% of women around the world describe themselves as beautiful and 81% of women in the U.S. strongly agree that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.”

This campaign is so much deeper than showing there are different standards of beauty, it’s about empowering women and building self-esteem. DOVE is working with the Girl Scouts of America with a program to build confidence in girls ages 8-17 with education resources and hands-on activities.

I remember the first time I saw an advertisement for the Campaign for Real Beauty and it was certainly unexpected but appreciated. For an organization to break the norm and use an alternative definition of beauty takes guts and a strong opinion towards change. The campaign has been running for 5 years now and continues to promote real beauty.

This is a different image than is portrayed by Victoria’s Secret or the catwalks of fashion week. A few years ago European fashion designers refused to put models in their show who did not weigh a certain amount. While it has not been directly tied to the DOVE Campaign for Real Beauty, I am sure that it is somewhat connected to the movement.