Real Beauty, Real Hypocrisy?
Posted by Kyra on May 13th, 2008
Last week, I saw an article in AdAge that suggested that one of the world’s most famous ‘touch up’ artists, Pascal Dangin, had a hand in making the women in the Real Beauty campaign look gorgeous. Even though Unilever and Dangin have made statements denying the reports, AdAge maintains that it will still “go down as a footnote in advertising history or rate among its biggest scandals, alongside Campbell’s marbles in the soup.”
Really.
Since the success of their Evolution campaign, Dove has been the viral video darling of the marketing world. Everyone wants their online efforts to come out smelling like 1/4 moisturizing lotion. But that sort of success can’t be plucked out of the cosmetics aisle and let’s face it - everybody’s a bit jealous. And my feeling is that, last week when this rumour emerged, a lot of people would have gladly seen Dove go on trial for their alleged mistake.
Even if they did do skin tone touch ups or got rid of minor blemishes on the Real Beauty models … would that really make their campaign somehow bogus? For me the idea is the most beautiful thing about the Dove brand and their recent marketing efforts. Some readers of AdAge’s coverage of the ’scandal’ agreed:
Several readers commenting on Ad Age’s Thursday story saw the controversy as a tempest in a teapot. “The issue is being massively blown out of proportion,” said one. “Retouching to adjust skin tones, remove shadows, or combine two or more photos from the same session for the sake of shot composition is commonplace and completely ethical.”
“I think we are losing sight of what this campaign is really about — loving your own body,” said another reader. “Even if the photo was retouched a bit, it still conveys the fact that all women are beautiful, no matter what size or shape.”
Another great follow up story that looks at how Dove/Oglivy/Unilever could have dealt with the situation can be found here.
May 13th, 2008 » 5:40 pm
Great post Kyra,
And as a man who does not look like Brad Pitt, I appreciate the message of the Dove Real Beauty campaign. It applies to us all. And if we remember the basic message, we can get on with what’s really important, living a life where the beauty radiates from the inside out.
May 18th, 2008 » 5:54 pm
I would be more appreciative of such a campaign if it were not from the same company that produces axe/lynx commercials where the women are airbrushed/enhanced and highly sexualised/objectified. It is an insult to have these awful degrading ads on one hand and then the “oooh but love yourself just the way you are” on the other hand. It is about as logical as getting health advice from a tobacco company.
And the focus is still on beauty! “hey look, even older/fatter/frecklier women are screwable, they should buy our products too.” Bleh! They can shove it.
May 21st, 2008 » 12:57 pm
I agree with you, Melinda. I thought the campaign was already hypocritical, but with this news I am left with a renewed anger and a little bit of shame. The defense of Dove’s unethical actions by this blogger is reprehensible! No wonder she is still just a little PR Girl - no self-respecting PR Woman would allow herself to fall prey to this repackaged beauty standard and the corporate double-speak that disguises it as a revolution.
May 23rd, 2008 » 9:37 am
Melinda, thanks for your comment. I agree that the Axe/Lynx connection is downright creepy. That said, my post wasn’t about defending Unilever for its integrated brand cohesion. I just happen to think that the reaction to the rumour was overzealous and that other marketers and advertisers clapped their hands with glee at the thought that such a successful campaign was going to end up reeking of hypocrisy.
PR Woman, you are assuming that the allegations against Dove are true. I would explain why I don’t think the rumour is true, but it would take some effort and I believe that you already have your mind made up about a lot of things.
May 23rd, 2008 » 11:38 am
Kyra,
I just wanted to let you know:
I don’t think your blog post is reprehensible.
But maybe you should try writing a truly reprehensible blog post, just to put things into perspective for PR Lady.