the execution of dove's campaign: sexism weakens the message
The first sentence of Dove’s verified website describing their positive body image campaign, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, is as follows, “The Dove brand is rooted in listening to women.” Many angry bloggers have decided this makes it almost too clear that Dove is not concerned with the body image problems thousands upon thousands of men are forced to face daily. This misrepresentation and lack of recognition of the male gender in positive body image campaigns was also a major issue within the research of many academic journals from all over the world. Men were and are just overlooked because their problems, although incredibly relevant, appear to be less of an immediate worry. It was brought to light by a recent popular article that Dove is first and foremost a company that “realizes women hold 86% if the consumer purchasing power in America” and therefore, has focused their energy on women instead of men and women. This simple fact has left many men feeling forgotten by a movement that has swept so many countries.
The possibility that Dove only has the goal to sell, rather than actually make a genuine change in the issues of body image ignites a sense of fear in many because it highlights the idea that what appears to be trustworthy can be incredibly deceiving. Another grand dilemma stemming from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is the fact that Dove’s parent company is Unilever when it's also the parent company to other brands such as Axe, Klondike, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!. What seems to be even more hypocritical is the fact that Unilever was once the parent company of Slim Fast, a brand for weight loss drinks. In regards to the many different types of brands represented by Unilever, consumers look at the extremely different advertising ploys of Dove and Axe and feel immediate confusion. Upon questioning, Unilever retorted that advertising efforts “are tailored to reflect the unique interests and needs of its audience.” They also claimed that young men and women both suffer from poor self-esteem, lack of confidence, and poor body image, but their issues must be handled differently, failing to mention any true plan. Dove Skin Vice President Fernando Machado stated in an email to U.S. News that Axe advertisements are primarily designed to be confidence boosters for men, just as Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is meant to boost the confidence of women.
Lastly, it was discovered that many found Dove’s positive body image campaign to exploit a void in the marketplace. In an article in The Illusionist it was highlighted that when Dove introduced women, and only women, with so-called “real” bodies, they distinguished themselves from the competitors, making it appear that they were more conscientious. It is possible that women were focused on in this campaign because they have more issues related to self esteem and body image that could be "fixed." This left many women believing that their feelings of lowered self-esteem and body image issues had been targeted and taken advantage of for sale purposes. It had been. Successfully, after the introduction of Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, Dove’s sales shot up 700% in the United Kingdom.
The possibility that Dove only has the goal to sell, rather than actually make a genuine change in the issues of body image ignites a sense of fear in many because it highlights the idea that what appears to be trustworthy can be incredibly deceiving. Another grand dilemma stemming from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is the fact that Dove’s parent company is Unilever when it's also the parent company to other brands such as Axe, Klondike, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!. What seems to be even more hypocritical is the fact that Unilever was once the parent company of Slim Fast, a brand for weight loss drinks. In regards to the many different types of brands represented by Unilever, consumers look at the extremely different advertising ploys of Dove and Axe and feel immediate confusion. Upon questioning, Unilever retorted that advertising efforts “are tailored to reflect the unique interests and needs of its audience.” They also claimed that young men and women both suffer from poor self-esteem, lack of confidence, and poor body image, but their issues must be handled differently, failing to mention any true plan. Dove Skin Vice President Fernando Machado stated in an email to U.S. News that Axe advertisements are primarily designed to be confidence boosters for men, just as Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is meant to boost the confidence of women.
Lastly, it was discovered that many found Dove’s positive body image campaign to exploit a void in the marketplace. In an article in The Illusionist it was highlighted that when Dove introduced women, and only women, with so-called “real” bodies, they distinguished themselves from the competitors, making it appear that they were more conscientious. It is possible that women were focused on in this campaign because they have more issues related to self esteem and body image that could be "fixed." This left many women believing that their feelings of lowered self-esteem and body image issues had been targeted and taken advantage of for sale purposes. It had been. Successfully, after the introduction of Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, Dove’s sales shot up 700% in the United Kingdom.