Are you “sleeveless ready?”
If you have no idea what the heck that means, Dove defines it for you as “Naturally comfortable with the look and feel of your underarms” or “Possessing the confidence to wear underarm-baring fashion.” On the sleeveless-ready web site you can even take a quiz to find out how armipit insecure you are and then, of course, find out about a product that can rid you of your pit-shame and sleeveless-unreadiness.
My favorite part of the quiz? They ask you if you shave your underarms, and if you respond with a preference to go “au naturel” the quiz replies: “Your choice is as individual as you are. We invite you to try a free* sample of Dove Ultimate Clear. In just five days, you’ll have softer, smoother underarms… naturally.” Yah, um.. thanks for letting me know.
What exactly does an unready pit look like, anyway? I have no idea, but Dove offers a “five day challenge” where I can learn just how awful my current pit state is.
Thank goodness they are constantly coming up with brand new things for me to hate about myself, because what would I spend my money on if I actually liked myself? Once I get over my armpits hopefully Dove will help me develop hatred of my big toes, my bellybutton, my earlobes…
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eight comments
Thanks for posting this -- Dove's "we gave women a tshirt and a sleeveless shirt..." ads have been driving me mad. Honestly, when I first saw it, I thought it was a spoof. It was too ridiculous to be genuine.
And I still can't figure what they're talking about. What on earth about my armpits needs "challenging"? Are people catching a glimpse, and gasping in shock over their... dryness? colour? shape?
At least Dove could tell me what I should be paranoid about so I can do it properly. Perhaps this is the new wave of attacks on body image -- pick a body part, and tell you there's something wrong with it, but leave it to you to figure out what (hopefully whilst buying any and all products targeted to that area). It's like a game, see how fun?
This campaign goes a long way to negating any of the good of the Campaign for Real Beauty.
Posted by catherine
May 30, 2007, 10:19 AM
I've been spending most of the morning trying like mad to figure out what the heck could possibly be wrong with my armpits.
Softer, smoother underarms? The absurdity is relentless.
Posted by Stacey May
May 30, 2007, 10:46 AM
Haha, I saw that ad with my male roommate last night, and he was totally perplexed. He was like, "I don't understand, what could be wrong with their armpits?" I think the thing I hate most about the commercial is the cutesy girl who opts to wear sleeves even though she has apparently nice underarms - it's Dove's cloying and disgustingly ingenuous way of saying, "You go girl! You let that ugly ugly armpit hair grow! You be the prude you wanna be! We all know that's what boys really like anyway!"
What I really hate is the "BATHING SUIT SEASON!!!" blitz that's on right now. Everywhere you turn, it's all the mags, TV commercials, radio spots, etc...are talking about.
True confession time: I always get stressed at this time of year, because I don't shave my armpits. But thanks to a lifetime of wonderful companies like Unilver, I don't like the way they look. I constantly want to shave them. I wear sleeve-ful t-shirts on the hottest days of the year. I worry about lifting my arms over my head. Thanks Dove, thanks a lot.
Posted by Thea
May 30, 2007, 12:34 PM
Thea, don't fret: According to Dove "your choice (not to shave) is as individual as you are." See how affirming they are?
Posted by Stacey May
May 30, 2007, 1:54 PM
Almost as encouraging as those ads with "natural" girls, none of which have any disabilities or skin problems. Heck, I'd die of shock the day I see a dove model with a birth mark.
Posted by Hannah Gray
May 30, 2007, 3:46 PM
A while back singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer appeared in a press poster for her tour with her "au naturel" (i.e. hairy) pits exposed. The offending fuzz was then AIRBRUSHED out of the photo. I don't know who made that decision - whether it was her agent or press manager or some aesthetic image comptroller, but it got me pretty riled.
Posted by Anna
May 30, 2007, 4:56 PM
p.s. I am also of the unshaven persuation, not exactly for contrarian political reasons (and not just because I hate the feeling of stubble) but because I think hairy armpits are kinda sexy. So take heart, Thea, the dictates of mass media haven't infiltrated everyone's taste. But it's true, it's not going to be easy to maintain my comfort level. Maybe some reverse-airbrushing (air-bushing?) of the Dove ads needs to take place. Just putting it out there.
Posted by Anna
May 30, 2007, 6:29 PM
for boys.
http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/
Posted by reighny
June 1, 2007, 10:41 AM
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