Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty – Is it all right?
October 7, 2009When I started my graduate studies at Columbia University, I hadn’t expected to feel like I wanted to become an advocate for anything. As a media professional, my job has always been to act in the best interest of my client. Sometimes, I would feel conflicted. I would want to tell the client to perhaps rethink their position. Rarely did that happen.
It is even rarer for any company to break with the “status quo” in this media environment. But the company Dove did just that when they started to shun the super skinny airbrushed model pictures and launched bold new advertising featuring real women.
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty launched just a few years ago. The results of the campaign have been staggering. In the United Kingdom, sales rose over 150% by many accounts. In the United States, media attention was celebrating the efforts to show real women in unaltered photographs. Sales spiked when Oprah brought the real women, the creatives and executives on her show, then launched a contest with the Dove to search for more “real women” and tell their stories.
That was a coup that could not be expected. Oprah by many is considered the “goldmine” opportunity for products for women. The interesting thing is that she never once raved about the products. It was always about the campaign Dove launched to promote healthy attitudes of women’s bodies.
The video link above showcases the company’s video “onslaught.” A young girl is smiling for the camera before it cuts to all the images she will see of health, beauty & fitness in one day. It includes obsessive working out, fake pitches from products, cosmetic surgery and medical issues including bulimia and anorexia.
The shock value of the video is staggering when you look at the sheer number of images, hence the title “onslaught.”
I have been a fan of this initiative for sometime. But recently, it came into conflict with my day job as a publicist for the fitness industry. How can I be behind a campaign that celebrates women who are out of shape and essentially unhealthy?
I am not a doctor, and we know that women are beautiful in their array of shapes & sizes they come in. But is this depiction healthy? Does it matter if it is not?
The bulimic, skinny airbrushed models are definitely not an ideal for any young girl to aspire too. But, should they just rest on their laurels if they have that few extra pounds? What about issues associated with extra weight: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc?
I will always applaud the work Dove has done to promote a broader view of what is beautiful. But I can’t help but wonder if the company has not yet hit on the right image. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But healthy & fit we have standards for. It’s a shame we can’t get the two to meet.
Wtfisthatnow's Blog 
Jay, you’re correct that we have standards for fit and healthy. But within those standards, there is tremendous room for variation in body size and shape. A size 12 can be in better physical condition than a size 8, and vice versa.
Even for those women (and men) who are overweight but physically active, one has to wonder if the benefits of self-acceptance outweigh the negatives of carrying extra weight. Having a poor self image may be as unhealthy as being overweight.
I’m clearly not talking about those who are clinically obese; no one is arguing that those individuals must lose weight in order to improve their health. But I wonder if a size 14 who is happy in her own skin might not outlive a size 10 who is miserable with herself?
What about the fact that women can be healthy in many different sizes and shapes? I agree that exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. However, there is more to body image than size. One can be larger and still be strong and healthy…one can be smaller and still be strong and healthy. There are genetic factors as well as cultural/ethnic factors that play a part in all-over health. There are issues of diet, of environment…one can go on and on about all the ways that one can be unhealthy without even looking at weight.
I do not think that the Dove campaign is saying that people should not take good care of themselves. I think that the campaign is simply recognizing that not everyone is a slinky little, hollow-eyed size zero. Its about time! One of the other things that I enjoy about the Dove campaign is the fact that they use women from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is imperative that young women of color can see themselves reflected in the main-stream media, and not just as the “other” or “exotic,” which is how they are often depicted.
Keep up the good work, sir!
Good points, but also remember that having a few curves does not necessarily equal unhealthy. The anorexic / bulimic (sp?) woman is certainly unhealthy because they are depriving their bodies of needed nutrients. But someone who is a size 12 with good blood pressure and low cholesteral, who exercises moderately, and who doesn’t smoke or drink might be just as “healthy” as a size 6 constant gym-goer who actually has high BP or other health issues. That might be something for your gym to build on — showcasing “regular” people who are going to the gym and doing healthy things but may not look super fit. The people who are at least trying, even on a small scale.