How can Unilever develop its Dove Campaign for Real Beauty?
Dove kicked off the regional take on its Campaign for Real Beauty in February, arguably the most engaging piece of communications to hit the Middle East. Consumers will be encouraged to air their views on the portrayal of female beauty, with Dove prompting the debate.
The initial evidence of the campaign will be stark print and outdoor images. PR, online and event marketing will be favoured in the medium term. Though Unilever will insist there is clear plan, engaging in public debate means the campaign will need to be reactive as well as proactive.
In the US, where the work debuted in 2004, it has broadened into the Dove Self-Esteem Fund "an agent of change to educate girls and inspire women on a wider definition of beauty". The brand has also tied up with the Girl Scouts of the USA's 'Uniquely Me' programme, building self-confidence among 8-14 year old girls.
Without doubt Dove's pitch is a clever piece of branding, unifying its products around a compelling idea and setting Dove apart from rivals Johnson & Johnson and Nivea. But how will the campaign develop once the element of surprise has died down?
Showing real women and realistic body shapes in beauty and fashion advertising aren't new ideas. The two approaches, though linked, aren't one and the same, however, says Brandchannel. For example, the up-market mail-order brand, Boden, photographed customers alongside professional models in its glossy catalogues. At around the same time, Marks & Spencer ran advertising featuring "average" (i.e., larger) women, with whom it thought its customers would identify. Boden's customers, who all had great figures and looks, were a hit; Marks & Spencer's "realistic" models failed to catch on and were phased out.
The crux of the issue is what makes women feel good. One approach assumes there are certain classic looks, which consumers would all secretly love to possess. When they see a beautiful model promoting they respond imaginatively and, for a moment or two, feel beautiful too. Rationally, they know the product will not change them, but the power of association is so great that, deep down, consumers feel a little of the model's magic has rubbed off.
Opposed to this is the idea that contemporary, self-confident women want to see figures and faces like their own celebrated in advertising, suggests Brandchannel. The problem here is that the whole thrust of consumer culture suggests society is becoming more, not less, obsessed with the pursuit of perfection.
The trick with Dove is that it has taken a subtler line on real beauty. The models though not glamorous have all been given the glamour treatment. Indeed, the Middle East creative has been beautified more than Western markets.
By showing a wider range of skin types and body shapes, Dove's advertising offers a democratised view of beauty to which all can aspire.
Louai Alasfahani, creative director of Paragon Marketing Communications, suggests the campaign develops through TV debates, including both professionals and men. Online and SMS interaction will be crucial. Linking up with International Women's Day (and tapping into a move towards broader enfranchisement for women), could be an option.
"And using more than just four models would be more representative of the diversity of the target market," he says.
In the short-term, championing the cause of real beauty promises to be a PR triumph for Dove, winning media attention and applause from many women. Longer-term, argues Brandchannel, as it adopts a campaigning stance, Dove will come to mean more to customers than its rivals in the same way that Fairtrade brands, the Body Shop, or even Virgin, appeal above the heads of their competitors because of what they stand for.
The real beauty debate is clearly a strong one for Dove, but it is also risky. The brand has been criticised for using unrepresentative "real" women. The 96-year-old used in UK (but rejected as "pitiable" by Middle East test audiences) was described by one marketer as "the old lady equivalent of a super-model".
In the US, Bath and Body Works in association with American Girl dolls, has created a line of 'Real Beauty Inside and Out' personal care products "designed to help girls ages 8 to 12 feel and be their best". The line includes body lotions, splashes, soaps and lip balms, all dressed up in girl-friendly packaging with image positive messages attached.
It's a great gimmick, but like Dove's campaign, prompts questions about whether it's even possible to break the feel bad cycle of the beauty industry. While it's commendable to tell 8 year old girls that real beauty is about trust, the reality is that this is being done while selling minty lip shine at $8 a pop.
The creatives view
Paddy Maclachlan, creative director, OgilvyOne Middle East, Dubai paddy.maclachlan@ogilvy.com
In every region including this one, the creative work has been kept to a template thats been stripped down and kept as clean and clear as possible, partly to reflect some of the Dove brand properties but mostly to allow the Big Idea to shine through. And what a Big Idea its turned out to be. Like all the best insights, its so simple, it must leave the competition wondering why they never thought of it themselves.
The clever part came with the perception that women dont just feel bad about the way they look; they feel bad about feeling bad about it. They want the definition of beauty to be widened, far beyond the Barbie paradigm, to be based on the inner strength, spirit and fulfilment of a woman, rather than on the length of her lashes.
Hence the overwhelming response to a campaign that recognised and celebrated that. Hence also the stellar increases that Dove has seen to its sales figures, pre and post campaign. In various regions theyve hit 200%, 300% and higher. Figures that any marketer would kill for, and most can only dream of.
So, a force for social good and a thunderously powerful sales driver, all in one curvaceous package.
Everybodys happy. And Unilever deserves fulsome praise for going with what was, at the outset, a very brave departure.
But will it work in the Gulf?
After all, and perhaps like few others, this is the land of The Big Hair, the land where Looks Actually Are Everything. In deference to that, the local version of the campaign has already had to take a tweak here and there. As last months GMR story reported, the pre-campaign research here showed that using a 96 year old was simply out of the question. The oldest model used in the local work is a full 50 years younger than that.
So it has been toned down, just a tad. Those straightforward, functional, juxtaposed headlines will have to work a little bit harder here to explain the proposition. Even so, its my guess that this will prove to be no more than a minor concern. That core idea is just so strong, so basic, so universally appealing, I believe it will sweep all obstacles aside, winning Dove the same success here that its enjoyed elsewhere.
In fact, those cultural idiosyncracies could even work in Doves favour here. In a place where the conventional norm of female beauty tall, thin, glamorous is seen not just as aspirational but as compulsory, the sense of frustration felt by people who dont measure up to it has to be enormous. So the reaction to a campaign that challenges that norm and offers an alternative could well be equally immense.
Liam Farrell, head of design, Gulf Saatchi & Saatchi liam@gulfad.com.bh
An ex gave me a shocking insight into female beauty perceptions once; she actually believed models in magazines looked that amazing in real life. She didnt understand the process of creation; from preproduction stylists to post-production artists whose jobs are to manufacture perfection. This continual visual bombardment of perfect women has totally warped the feminine body image.
If Dove is serious they could really demystify the beauty myth by enlisting celebrities (icons who are used to create the mythic female that creates the beauty warp) to show their real selves reportage style photography, real locations, real beauty routines. Id also want to create a physical subvertising campaign to question what is beauty? The campaign could arrest women where they buy beauty enhancement products. For instance; in-store Dove cosmetics counter selling Dove in makeup-style tins, at lingerie stands in neat lingerie packaging, clothing shop windows with normally proportioned mannequins holding bottles of Dove to cover their modesty.
Regionally the eyes are a big deal, theyre breasts for the Arabic male gaze and the canvas on which local ladies trowel layers of cosmetics onto choking skin. Perhaps Dove can use an eyes only campaign in Saudi and other sensitive territories where the female form is (strangely) taboo.
I hope the Dove sticks its beak out on this one.
Charbel Bousraih, executive creative director, Enjaz charbel@enjazdezine.com
I love this campaign. It talks to me on the level and Im sure thatll work well in the future. It develops a strong relationship with the consumer, physically and emotionally. The copy is simple and I like how it challenges consumers to choose sides.
I can see this approach in the future involving real men as well, young and old. However, I can imagine as much as this campaign is simple and eye catching, casting could be a nightmare.
There are a lot of criteria. This is not about the usual catwalk model, being natural is critical, everything has to be relevant. Its about real beauty, real people. I can see Dove participating in events and TV sponsorship like reality shows and daily talk shows discussing real life matters.
What is brave is that there is no mention of what Dove can do. I commend the brand manager.
Gulf Marketing Review 2006
