photo credit: ana maria kresina
by ana maria kresina
Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” is an effective campaign that has been recognized internationally for challenging advertising stereotypes of women. Through magazine ads, billboards and television commercials Dove has situated itself within a counterculture realm where it subverts advertising in attempts to represent women of all ages, background and body types. By rolling out a new line of firming creams and pro-aging products Dove is selling its positive ideology with every purchase.
Much praise was given to Dove when the “Campaign for Real Beauty” ads first appeared on television. The women used to market Dove products were not typical women used in advertising, instead they were women of different shapes and sizes flaunting their imperfections with such ease and confidence. These ‘real women’ posed wearing nothing but white underwear to sell Dove’s newest line of products, such as “Intensive Firming Cream”. The hypocritical nature of Dove’s ads, particularly using subversive advertising strategies in order to sell a cosmetic product is noted by writer for the New York Observer,
Rebecca Traister:
“As long as you’re patting yourself on the back for hiring real-life models with imperfect bodies, thereby “challenging today’s stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves,” why ask those models to flog a cream that has zero health value and is just an expensive and temporary Band-Aid for a “problem” that the media has told us we have with our bodies. Incidentally, cellulite isn’t even a result of being overweight! It’s the result of cellular changes in the skin.”
Though Dove claims that its campaign aims to “change the status quo and offer in its place a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty” on its website, it fails to mention that it is selling products (such as cellulite cream) which reinforce the stereotype that women need to look beautiful in order to be accepted. Although the “Campaign for Real Beauty” might be a refreshing new approach to marketing it does not invalidate the fact that the campaign is not a genuine one.
In the short film (actually a commercial), Evolution, Dove highlights issues that are associated with photo imaging of women in advertisements. The film opens with a model sitting in front of a camera as the lights hit her face, then, the clip fast-forwards though the process of makeup, hair styling, and photography, until her image is digitally altered, and produced as a billboard on the side of a street. The film is breathtaking, since it illustrates the manipulation and exploitation that takes place in order to create an esthetically pleasing advertisement. “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” is the caption that follows the last image, which often leaves the viewer in awe of how much manipulation and digitalization is used in order to create a final product. Even though a positive buzz has surrounded the film, it is important to bring emphasis to the caption “Every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is” that ends the film. Though Dove is attempting to educate the audience, which is usually enthralled in marketing campaigns, Dove is also subtly suggesting that beauty is important and that it noticeably has an impact on the way people feel. This seems obvious, since Dove is a beauty product company, which relies on consumers’ imperfections, in order for products to be sold.
In its newest line of products which are advertised as “pro-aging”, Dove emphasizes that beauty has no age limit. The company claims “It’s not about anti-aging. It’s about celebrating your personal beauty.” Dove’s labeling of the product would suggest that they encourage and promote aging, whereas their hand cream contradicts this notion in explaining that the intensive moisturizer “reduce the appearance of age spots, fine lines and wrinkles”. Even though Dove is using a different type of beauty that consumers are not usually exposed to, natural (or aging beauty) is still essentially a marketing tool used to acquire potential consumers who agree with the philosophies and ideologies presented by the company. This is illustrated in the quote given by one of the women featured in the ad, Daniela who states:
“My age doe not limit me from being active. The Dove products make me feel even better. And I thought by being a “real woman” with gray hair and wrinkles and sun spots, I could convince other women my age to try a good new product, feel good about themselves by being who they really are.”
Dove further extended its “Campaign for Real Beauty” to include a “Self-Esteem Fund” that has a partnership with Girl Scouts in order to reach out to young women and help them overcome their insecurities about body image and beauty. Similarly to the “Campaign for Real Beauty”, the “Self-Esteem Fund” once again focuses on the main problem of defining what beauty is, and how it can be inclusive of all women. The relationship between the two campaigns is conspicuously interlinked because both are using marketing perceptions of beauty in order to define, deconstruct and then redefine the idea of ‘real beauty’. The relationship between the consumer and Dove is a unique one. Instead of initially buying into products and gimmicks, Dove creates an alliance where the consumer trusts the company’s ideologies and therefore entrusts the company with their money (either by donating to the fund, or by buying their products). The “Self-Esteem Fund” is a marketing tool that works simultaneously alongside the original campaign to promote a positive philosophy in order to sell Dove products.
The use of subversion in advertising is an effective marketing tool used by companies to capture the attention of consumers. Although the allure of such campaigns are often interesting to the viewer, one must still be cognizant of the fact that slick advertising campaigns are usually created for the sole purpose of selling a product. Though it is apparent that Dove has evolved the way a product can be marketed by appealing to consumers and emphasizing ‘real beauty’ it is unclear whether this is positively shaping society’s attitudes towards beauty. Perhaps it would be better to do it some other way, rather than through the sales of beauty products which are already loaded with negative implications and commentary on women and society? Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” might seem like a meaningful attempt to challenge the advertising market when in fact, its sole motives are profit and consumerism.
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bravo! what a wonderful piece.
so so true – thanks for opening our eyes
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