Dove believes in celebrating beauty in its diversity. They are a company that is known for their body and hair products and since 2004, they have been changing the game. Dove's beauty campaign celebrates the beauty in women all of shapes, sizes and ethnicities and inspires everyone to be comfortable in their own skin.
In 2004, Dove did a global study and found that only two percent of women around the world find themselves beautiful. Only two percent? Sure, we all have a couple things that we would like to change about our bodies such as height, weight, skin tone, or hair, but only two percent of the world's women finding their own bodies beautiful is unacceptable. Dove made it their mission to raise that number by showcasing real women in their ads instead of size zero models who have been airbrushed to perfection. They put out several videos to inform girls that they are beautiful no matter what they look like.
One of their most influential commercials, "Evolution," was about a woman coming into a studio with no makeup on, being made over, then Photoshopped and put onto a billboard. In the before and after picture, there is almost no resemblance between the two women.
Having advertisements that are unrepresentative of what real people look like changes what we think we need to look like which is completely unrealistic. Dove's campaign teaches women to embrace every inch of their bodies, and that we are worth more than what we look like. Dove recognizes that the point of advertisement is to be able to relate to the people in them, so that you might purchase whatever is being showcased, and they does just that. By using non-traditional models, it is easier to imagine yourself as someone in the commercial. Seeing people on TV who we can relate to makes us feel better about ourselves, because subconsciously we know that they only put good looking people on TV. Thanks for using real people, Dove. Your outlook on women brings us back to reality of what normal people look like.
After Dove launched their monumental campaign, it inspired several other brands to empower women as well. Always created a campaign called #LikeaGirl which teaches young girls that "like a girl" is not a bad thing. Pantene's #NotSorry video tells women to stop over apologizing for things that they shouldn't even be sorry for. No matter the company, all of these brands are encouraging and empowering women and we could all use a little more of that in the media.
Although there are many days where we all wish we had the body and confidence of Alexis Ren, the hair of Kate Middleton, and age as well as Jennifer Aniston, the most important thing is to remember that it truly is what is on the inside that counts. No matter how hard it can be, everyone should wake up and feel beautiful in their own unique ways. Below, are my three favorite Dove Real Beauty Campaign Videos, I promise they are all worth the watch.
