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October 19, 2006
Is Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty the Real Deal?
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
We've talked about the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty before, but it gets especially interesting with the release of a new time-lapse video showing the make-up and Photoshop process that creates a "beautiful" billboard model (also available on YouTube).
Dove is going all out to change perceptions, including the Dove Self Esteem Fund and a global study that found that 67% of women withdraw from life because of how they feel about their looks and 90% of women want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance.
As great as it is to see honesty in the marketing of beauty products, you have to wonder how deep it goes. Is this the real deal?
Or is it just a marketing campaign? If you look at the other brands of Dove's parent comapny Unilever, particularly the men's deodorant Axe, it does seem like it's just a marketing campaign.
So how does Dove prove itself? Authenticity. And time. That's what it takes for a cause marketing campaign to work. You have to prove yourself over time. If Dove gives up and returns to the Photoshop methods they're exposing, it will all be for nothing. But if they stick with it over the long haul it will become more than just a marketing campaign. Dove could become known as the beauty company that cares about real beauty.
That's the power of cause marketing. It's not easy, but nobody said changing the world was easy. (link via Spare Change).
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Comments
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the link. I agree that if Dove goes back to business as usual in their advertising it undermines everything they will have achieved in this campaign. As you said, we'll see over time.
I was glad to discover your blog. I'm also in LA (on the Valley side) so if you're ever out in this direction, I'd love to buy you some coffee and chat.
Posted by: Nedra Weinreich at October 19, 2006 5:24 PM