Running head: The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Transcription

1 1 The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty: Mini Case Study Robyn Garing Com. 475

2 2 History of the Company: Owned by the one of the largest and most successful consumer goods companies, Unilever, Dove is a personal care brand that has revolutionized the way people view moisturization. Dove released their first product, the Dove Beauty Bar in 1957, and has built their legacy as a moisturizing beauty brand that has been referred to as The Dove Difference (Dove). Before understanding the Dove brand it is first important to recognize Dove s parent company, Unilever. A global company, Unilever owns over 400 brands from personal and home care brands like Vaseline, Ponds and Sunlight. Unilever also owns food and drink brands such as Lipton and Ben& Jerry s. As the brand has many different interests the company s mission is to work to create a better future every day, with brands and services that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life (Unilever). Although this is the mission for all of Unilever s endeavors, Dove s vision is more specific to the industry and the perception of personal care and beauty. For example, their website states Dove is committed to helping all women realize their personal beauty potential by creating products that deliver real care. Dove believes that beauty should be for everyone, because when you look and feel your best, you feel better about yourself (Unilever). Background: In early 2004 Dove funded the study, Real Truth About Beauty to further the understanding of women, beauty and wellbeing, and the relationship between them. As the study describes, Dove acknowledged the popular portrayal of women s beauty in the world as neither authentic nor attainable and that this image was preventing women

3 3 from recognizing and enjoying beauty in themselves and others. In other words, the study was going to be used to research how women defined beauty, why that was, and to see if it was possible to reach out to women in ways that were authentic, satisfying and empowering (Etcoff p. 1). Through the study the Dove brand was also credited for recognizing the value placed on being beautiful and how this pressure impacts women s wellbeing, happiness and self-esteem. (Etcoff) After commanding the study, Dove then used the material to explain the 21 st century point of view and how it was affecting women. For instance, only the minority of women see themselves as above average in appearance, and only 2% claim to be beautiful ( Etcoff p.4). As the study put these facts in context it also outlined components of what women categorized as true beauty, for example wisdom, love, and kindness, which allowed Dove to develop the Campaign for Real Beauty. Objective: The personal care industry has continued to be competitive and companies such as Dove are always looking for ways to standout globally, and by launching the Campaign for Real Beauty Dove did just that. Dove based the campaign from the findings in the Real Truth About Beauty study, and used real women who didn t fit the normal skinny, young and unwrinkled stereotype. As Dove described, the Real Beauty Campaign was created to provoke discussion and encourage debate (Dove), but it also inspired women to celebrate natural beauty and be comfortable in their own skin. Throughout this campaign Dove pushed to rid the next generation of the stereotypes on beauty, and through a variety of tactics they asked for social change, while also selling their product.

4 4 Strategy: The campaign strategy was to build relationships, inspire women and motivate conversation while also drawing global attention to the brand. Through strategies and tactics, like the ad campaign in 2004 that featured women talking about their appearances, the campaign used real women to start difficult conversations that would hopefully rid the next generation of the unfortunate definition of beauty that society had adopted. Execution: Although the overall goal was to create brand awareness in a positive way, the company also wanted to change how women saw themselves, and how they defined beauty. Through this process, Dove employed multiple vehicles that would reach out to women with thought-provoking messages that would build women s confidence by showing them beauty outside the stereotypes. While the campaign used an assortment of strategies and tactics, one of the most memorable was when the six women with real bodies and curves in white underwear were featured in an advertisement to show the women s natural beauty. As these advertisements gained publicity and sparked conversations, they also set the brand apart from its competition. They did this by inspiring women to feel naturally beautiful, which allowed them to develop deeper more trusted relationships with their target audience. Although building this relationship between women, their definition of beauty, and the brand was significant, it was also important to point out that the campaign attempted to empower women and have them believe in their own beauty all while improving brand s image (Dove).

5 5 Results and Outcome: Throughout the use of multiple channels, like social media and television advertisements, Dove s Campaign for Real Beauty was able to draw attention to societies definition of beauty and how women view themselves and others. For example, the campaign is credited for the banning of overly thin models from Spain s fashion runways. Since its launch in 2004 the Dove campaign for Real Beauty has been successful due to its ability to transform and mold as the perception of beauty has changed. As the campaign has launched multiple phases that have increased conversation it has also been successful in empowering women while establishing relationships with their female consumers and their image as a brand that supports the idea of natural beauty (Dove).

6 6 References Barletta, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from Dove. (n.d.). Retrieved from Etcoff, N. (n.d.). Retrieved from Beauty/dove_white_paper_final.pdf Unilever. (n.d.). Retrieved from