Multi-media campaign sparked regional debate with more than 18,000 hits

31 May 2006 - 'Grey' is the new 'graceful' according to Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty poll which revealed that only 27% of women classified 46 year old Tala Barrage - a Lebanese women who has not dyed her hair for three years - as 'grey' rather than 'graceful'.

The multi-media ad campaign, which featured powerful taglines inviting women from across the region to take part in the dialogue on real beauty, resulted in more than 18,000 votes on the dedicated bilingual website (www.campaignforrealbeauty.ae).  The website was supported by a regional SMS text campaign and through extensive mall tours and in-store promotions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.

The ads, which made their debut in early February 2006, featured images of plus-size natural looking women with curves and unconventional hair texture and colour.  The campaign aimed to challenge the standard of supermodel imagery that has for years anchored images of fantasy and illusion.

The results further revealed that 64% of participants in the Dove campaign deemed 33 year old plus-sized Lebanese mother, Jouhayna Boudiwan, as 'beautiful' rather than 'big'.

Rola Tassabehji, regional brand manager for Dove, said: "Following the launch of the regional ads, there has been an emotional outpour from women across the region who genuinely identified with the campaign. The general consensus has been: at last, images of women who look like us."

The Campaign For Real Beauty was founded following the results of a worldwide study among 3,300 women which showed that only 2% of women were comfortable describing themselves as beautiful.

Studies specific to Saudi Arabia revealed that nine in 10 women were unhappy with their physical attributes. A typical beautiful Arab women was described as a tall, thin 20s girl with made-up looks and straight black hair.

A further 63% of Arab women admitted that they felt threatened by the beauty ideals portrayed in the media and entertainment industries. 

Commenting on the research, Rabee Abu Kishek, marketing manager at Unilever Arabia said: "The Saudi-based study has shown that Arab women are ready to break the beauty stereotypes that have for long prevented many of them from feeling attractive. Dove's message is simple: Be beautiful in your own unique style - take care of yourself and reach your own beauty potential."

The tick box poll has shown that made-up looks were deemed necessary to achieve beauty standards with almost one in two women referring to Saudi national Marwa Abdul Jawad as 'plain' rather than 'perfect'.

Abu Kishek continued: "Under the preliminary testing, Dove has found that non-Arabs deemed Marwa as exotic and outstanding whereas most Arabs found her as very simple and plain. The essence of the Campaign For Real Beauty is to create debate and tap into new ways of looking at beauty."

Curly hair was unpopular among respondents as 48% of participants in the campaign regarded 29 year old Suzi Illiyan as 'frizzy' rather than 'fabulous'.

"We have selected these four women as we felt they would challenge the most common physical aspects that are deemed essential to achieving beauty in the Arab world," concluded Tassabehji.

Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty is part of a global initiative which started in North America at the end of 2004. The striking success of the campaign has prompted subsequent launches in Canada, Europe, Asia and most recently the Arab world.

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© Press Release 2006