Original Advertisements

It seems as though there is a general consensus about what a model should look like when they appear
in a beauty advertisements. They must be skinny, have long, full-bodied hair, perfect skin and no visible
flaws. It would be hard to prove otherwise just by flipping through any magazine in which these
products are featured.

This has led to a widespread belief about what beauty is acceptable. The attitude seems tolerant
towards the propaganda created by the beauty and fashion industry despite the fact that there some
well-known people and companies are speaking out against it.

While most companies have chosen to continue spreading this message, Dove (and their parent
company Unilever) has decided to speak out against these standards with a series of advertisements
that is part of their highly recognizable and admired “Campaign for Real Beauty”
Audience Analysis

In 2004, a global advertising campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather and Elderman Public Relations was
launched by Dove. Originally, it started out as billboards but has since moved on to become one of the
most recognizable campaigns of all times thanks to their print ads, television commercials and viral
videos.

The fact that its beginnings were as a billboard and print ad would mean that the target is the general
public- or so you would think. Although the ads were placed in highly public areas and visible to
everyone, Dove gears their ads for women. Until now, Dove has not targeted men in any of their ad
campaigns, though this is apparently going to change in the near future when they launch a new men’s
line.

When you visit their website to learn more about their Campaign for Real Beauty, you learn that all the
activities (mostly workshops, classes and publications) are all geared toward girls. While they use
women in their ads it appears as though they are specifically reaching out to young women and children
in order to change the attitudes of the newer generations. According to their website, their purpose is to
“free ourselves and the next generation from beauty stereotypes and to embrace all definitions of
beauty”.

The adverts connect to their target audience mostly through their models and limited, yet thought-
provoking text. Dove uses models that are recognizably different than the “normal” model, because
they want to represent the average woman in hopes that they can see themselves in these models.

The text itself is usually thought-provoking and is phrased in such a way that it makes you think, not just
in the moment but hopefully for a more prolonged period in the future. Although, like any good
advertising, the ad was designed to capture attention, it has a secondary purpose. Dove hopes to create
a discourse over what true beauty is and with any luck completely revolutionize attitudes.

Dove’s Message to the Public

Dove has carefully crafted a highly visible brand image of themselves with these ads. They are showing
how progressive they can be by speaking up against impossible standards and suggesting that one
should reject the current standard by which beauty is defined. They are boldly sending a message that
everyone, no matter their age or appearance, is truly beautiful.
This has allowed Dove to be seen as a company that places importance on how people are feeling and
less on trying to push a product onto consumers. Their ads are meant to trigger emotional responses
from viewers.

Image someone who has been struggling all their life with self-image issues because they are curvy,
wear glasses or have freckles. When they look at magazines, television and billboards they never see
themselves and begin have self-esteem issues. Then one day they see Dove ads with women that look
just like everybody else on the street and not some high-gloss model and think “Wow, now here’s a
company that caters to the everyday woman”. This may lead them to associate positive, happy feelings
when they see these ads or Dove products.

In all of the ads since 2004, Dove has been pushing the idea that beauty standards are skewed. They
clearly play on traits women worry most over, saying that yes, your grey hairs, curves, freckles, wrinkles,
etc, makes you beautiful. Because they repeat this message over and over and carry it from one
advertising campaign to the next showing consistency. This means that for them it was not a one-time
deal for them but rather what they believe.

Why This Advertisement Works

Since the message that Dove wants to get across is that you are beautiful no matter what you look like,
the ad works in many ways. First, it appeals to people’s rational, not just their emotions. While many
consciously know that the standard of beauty is warped, they nevertheless choose to believe in it, rarely
publically stating that it is wrong. Dove, however, speaks out against those standards in their ads,
showing that appealing to rational is just as important as creating an emotional response.

Second, the ads engage you emotionally because they address people’s self-esteem issues. They are
showing that they care about how you feel and ensure that you have a positive view of yourself and that
your attitude towards beauty is one that you define and not one that has been defined for you.

Third, the ads promote a strong sense of social awareness and good values because they are letting you
know you should be standing up for something that is inherently wrong. Foregoing the supermodel and
celebrity spokesperson and using diversity in the models shows that they are care about everyone and
are not just focused on selling a product with a pretty face.

Fourth, the ads are provocative. They make you stop and think. Despite the use of a minimal amount of
text, the message gets across. It’s also a message you are not likely to forget the second you turn the
page or channel. It is used as a vehicle to begin a more in-depth discussion about beauty.

Last, there is a lot more to the advertisement. It is not merely an ad but an entire campaign that
includes self-esteem programs, literature and discussions on their website. For Dove, it wasn’t enough
to just put an ad out there; they made sure that they backed up what they were saying by having more
to offer than just an ad. They want to make sure people started talking about beauty in a new way and
invited them to comment on their website as well as created online open discussions on the subject.

How the Advertisement Fails

The Campaign for Real Beauty is quite affective in getting a positive message out to the public; however,
they also have several shortcomings. Despite the fact that their message seems clear it fails to be direct
enough. It carries excess baggage and can be considered ambiguous at best. If Dove is so intent on
proving that the women in those ads are gorgeous, 44 and hot, wonderful, flawless and fit, then why are
they are they allowing the possibility that someone would look at those ads and go with grey, 44 and
not, wrinkled, flawed or fat instead.

For example, on one of their billboards, portraying the curvy woman, people were encouraged to phone
in and vote on whether the woman was fat or fab. During this time, the outcome of the vote was
updated regularly on their website. The results were pretty much divided 50-50 in the beginning;
however the votes for fat eventually outnumbered the votes for fab, much to their dismay. This proves
that despite their best efforts to portray that woman as fabulous, people’s beliefs still lie in the outdated
standards, proving that attitudes have yet to change.

Another argument can be made concerning the models themselves. While Dove chose to stay away
from “professional” models, they also clearly chose models that are still pretty. If you closely at all of
these women, their hair is perfect, their teeth are white and they have relatively flawless skin (no visible
scars, bruises, pimples, etc). Even the curvy woman, has relatively few curves, the dress fits her perfectly
and it appears she has no belly fat whatsoever. These women are as over-processed as any other
model, in fact many belief that they are subject to digital retouching and airbrushing in order for them
appear this way.

Dove’s intent was to show ordinary woman but they appear to focus on a rather small group of women.
The woman they use only represent a minute fraction of the population, so while they are taking a step
in the right direction they still are not going far enough in represent the every day woman. The ad also
fails because it only addresses females. It should go further and change the perception of men as well,
since the shaping on the next generation is not solely dependent on one gender.

Possible Revisions

In revising this ad, there are a few simple things I would love to see changed.
 Remove any ambiguity text-wise by omitting the checkboxes and choice between A and B.
  Remove questions such as “Why can’t more woman feel glad to be grey?”
 Use the physical appearance term that people might think they are uncomfortable with and pair
it with a work that synonymous with beautiful, for example; grey and gorgeous, not one or the
other.
 Add a new slogan that is more proactive, that reflects Dove’s message more directly instead of
just suggesting it.
 The new slogan could be something like “New Thinking. New Beauty.”, “We Bring Beauty to
Life” or “Making Every Beauty Count”.
 Remove anything that sounds negative, their message is positive and that should be reflected in
the text.

I am not only interested in revising the Dove ads but subverting them as well. Subverting an ad can refer
to completely changing or editing an advertisement in order to show how a company is promoting
questionable values. While I do not find that Dove has dubious motives, I do find that they are choosing
to be ignorant and unconvincing in the delivery of their message. I would subvert these ads by:

 Replace the “pretty”, average models for more ordinary people that really are not used in
beauty advertising.
 Use models from different walks of life, ages, and races.
 Models could be Indian (have yet to see one in the Dove ads), geeky girl, someone with facial
scars or missing a limb.
 Use models that are male.
 Be a voice for different disease or disorders as well.

Conclusions

Dove has chosen to show off how progressive their thinking is when it comes through their campaign for
Real Beauty. As one of the most recognizable ad campaigns of the last decade, Dove has put their stamp
on speaking out against impossible beauty standards and the lies that are fed to us that industry. Dove
has succeeded in partially accomplishing their mandate. While they have yet to really change people’s
attitudes towards beauty, many have begun a discourse that is based on these ads.

The advertisements are quite dynamic and have opened people’s minds towards a new kind of beauty
by presenting situations that are not normally seen in this type of advertising. However, their advertising
campaign fails because they have not pushed the boundaries far enough and by not being direct, clear
and concise with their message. By revising and subverting the adverts, the message Dove wishes to
portray has been done in a more direct, effective and thought-provoking method.
Revised Advertisement

Here is a revision for one of the original advertisements.

I have also subverted the advertisement, following some of the comments I made about how I would
revise the ad to make it more effective.

I have included only two revised advertisements here, to see more please visit my blog at
www.ccfournier.weebly.com.