Unilever’s “Real Beauty” Campaign for Dove (Abridged)

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Excerpts....

In early 2004, Dove conducted a global study on the perceptions and attitudes of women with regard to their personal beauty and well-being. The study was done in partnership with StrategyOne and in collaboration with Nancy Etcoff (Etcoff) and the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University Program in Aesthetics and Well Being, and Susie Orbach (Orbach) of the London School of Economics. The study surveyed around 3,200 women from 10 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, and the US), in the age group of 18 to 64. According to the findings, published in a report titled, “The Real Truth about Beauty: A Global Report,” only 2% of the women surveyed considered themselves as “beautiful,” while only 9% felt comfortable describing themselves as “attractive”.

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In April 2004, when Unilever initially launched its new Dove Firming Lotion in the UK, it decided to try out a new marketing approach. The ads named “Let’s celebrate curves,” featured six women of various body types in their underwear. The ad was photographed by Ian Rankin (Rankin), a leading fashion and celebrity photographer...........

In September 29, 2004, Dove formally launched the global campaign called “Campaign for Real Beauty” (See Box I for Dove’s campaign manifesto). The ad campaign was designed by O&M and the PR was handled by Edelman. The integrated campaign strove to raise consciousness of the issues surrounding beauty and to challenge long-held stereotypes. .........

In 2005, Dove commissioned another global study to understand the perceptions of women with regard to beauty. Around 3,300 women, between the ages of 15 and 64, were interviewed in Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US. This study further reaffirmed the findings of the previous study conducted in 2004. The study also revealed that almost half the women surveyed globally and 60% of women in the US felt that their weight was “too high.” ........

Dove aired a commercial during the Super Bowl XL (Super Bowl) in February 5, 2006, for the DSEF. The 45-second spot showed images of small girls who were dissatisfied with their looks. For instance, a girl with freckles ‘Hates her freckles’, a girl with black hair ‘Wishes she were blonde’, a thin girl was ‘Afraid she’s fat?’ etc.........

Many people, including experts, appreciated Dove’s efforts toward changing perceptions of beauty in advertising through the use of refreshing ads that made women feel good about themselves (See Exhibit VII for the results from a survey titled, “What do you think of ‘real women’ ad campaigns?”). For instance, Wendy Shanker, national spokeswoman for Love Your Body Day of the National Organization for Women Foundation, said, “I’m going to buy their lotion... because they’re trying to get my dollar by making me feel good instead of trying to make me feel bad.” .........

Many marketing analysts felt that CFRB was a revolutionary campaign because the ads showed ordinary women who were confident and happy with themselves. The ads had succeeded at grabbing the attention of consumers. They felt that the campaign was a refreshing change as it challenged existing conventions and showed alternative images of beauty and images of women that were not sexualized. ........

Marketing messages in the beauty industry are largely “aspirational”. It is also common marketing knowledge that people are attracted to the attractive images shown in these ads and make an unconscious connection between the model’s appearance and the products. Some experts felt that Dove’s campaigns had a significant marketing risk as it had to convince women that they need Dove products to become even better..........

Dove’s marketing team dismissed some of these criticisms, especially the one that the campaign was contradictory by nature. Boyda said, “We are telling them we want them to take care of themselves, take care of their beauty. That is very different from sending them the message to look like something they’re not.” Bright said that the product “is for women of all shapes and sizes, and a lot of women want firming products. It’s about feeling good about yourself. And that’s about bringing products that matter to women......

Unilever contended that the “real beauty” campaign was much more than pure product marketing. It strove to challenge stereotypes set by the beauty industry and help women feel more positive about themselves. The company said that the DSEF was a part of its long-term growth strategy for the brand. It also aimed to reach 1 million children with its Body Talk program by 2008. Due to the success of this campaign, the management committee of Unilever recommended to the board that corporate social responsibility should be integrated into other parts of its business as well.....

Exhibit I:Dove’s Ad for Firming Lotion (UK)
Exhibit II: First Series of CFRB Ads
Exhibit III:The First Series of Ads Challenging Stereotypes
Exhibit IV: Screenshot of the CFRB Website
Exhibit V: Dove Firming Ads (US)
Exhibit VI: Dove’s Super Bowl DSEF Advertisement
Exhibit VII: Survey Results*: What do You Think of 'Real Women' Ad Campaigns?