Wow, that tune is catchy.
Today, The Toronto Star’s Jennifer Wells drew my attention to Onslaught, the latest ad from Dove’s “Campaign For Real Beauty.”
[Video stream might be faster here.]
What do you think of this one? Should Dove stop, or do you like these ads, or are those two totally different questions? Is our self-esteem ultimately determined by corporations? Does Dove give this message credibility? (I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to make this same point to the glazed-over faces of friends.)
(If you’re just tuning in, we’ve previously discussed the dangers and merits of Dove’s campaign, including pit pride and parent company Unilever’s conflicting messages. And recently we’ve been wondering if corporate marketing can ever really be used for “good.”)
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eight comments
Wow, Erin, thanks for posting this. I am kind of blown away -- this is a highly effective ad! I'm going to think about it some more before I comment... I look forward to this juicy discussion!
Posted by Nicole
October 3, 2007, 9:28 AM
The merit I see in Dove's film/ad campaigns, especially this one, are that they open dialogue for the public. It puts a message into the conscience of an audience, an audience that may not have had this conscience prior to being exposed to said message. We are inundated with negative images and messages of and about women on billboards, on T.V., on the magazine stands but it seems as though collectively, women and men alike are tolerating the message these images are sending. The irony that a beauty company is criticizing the beauty industry, is problematic and a fascinating paradox. But aside from Dove's profiteering, isn't it encouraging and refreshing to see an assault on the disturbing images staring at us from the glossies, the T.V. and even bus shelters? It gets people thinking, reminds us to question what we see. It encourages women and men to take perhaps a new, critical approach in our reaction to the onslaught of beauty standards and challenges us to verbalize counterculture to our children.
Posted by Lilith Attack
October 3, 2007, 9:47 AM
I think the ads are great. I agree with Lilith Attack - they make a great case for simply pausing for a moment to consider everything that we see over the course of a day. And though these images affect adults one way, it's necessary to stop and think what our daughters (nieces, granddaughters, godchildren, etc.) are seeing and internalizing. These images teach them, from a heinously young age, that they are not good enough. Kudos to Dove.
Posted by babysinblack
October 3, 2007, 10:20 AM
You beat me to it!
I've been skeptical of Dove, because the first round of the Campaign for Real Beauty advertised "firming cream" - which also, presumably, "really works". But taken in isolation (if it's possible) this video is pretty fantastic. So now my feelings are mixed.
Posted by Allison
October 3, 2007, 11 AM
The dove ad pretty much captured how I was feeling today.
I was just passing a bus stop today with an ad for Paris and Nicole on it, and Paris was of course half-dressed and she had that stupid look on her face. I just wanted to get a can of black spraypaint and write something over it...but of course, I'm not 13, I can't go around spraypainting bus stops. But "they" can put objectifying images of women at random places all over the city.
Posted by Jaye
October 3, 2007, 4:29 PM
I guess I'm the odd one out, but I really dislike this ad. I do agree that at face value this ad is doing something positive - but I found that their last ad was better at deconstructing the way the beauty industry works. This one just seems to be a case of Dove creating a fake distinction between itself and other companies, all the while patting itself on the back.
I find the way Dove is saying "All these horrible beauty campaigns are so awful! We are so much better than them!" totally disingenuous. We've really clearly seen that Dove is essentially the same as other corporations - the whole progressiver-than-thou vibe really irritates me.
It reeks of a good guys and bad guys approach, where parents and Dove are the noble protectors, other beauty companies are the bad guys, and girls are the helpless victims of vicious beauty campaigns. I think it's incredibly disempowering the way the ultimate message of the ad is not "fight back! resist! overturn!" but "protect your helpless children".
More than that, the ads just seem to miss the point to me. Like I said, it puts the onus on parents - when really the onus should be on beauty companies like Dove, which in the end is not doing anything different. Why doesn't Dove work on changing the industry in a genuine way instead of badmouthing everyone else and then saying it's parents' jobs to fix? Could it be because they don't actually care about self-esteem and this is just an ad campaign? I wonder...
Posted by Thea
October 3, 2007, 5:05 PM
Funny, I just blogged about this ad yesterday! :)
I like the message of the ad but would like it more if I actually believed they were genuinely concerned about the impact of advertising on girls.
I HATE the fact that this kind of thing is coming from Unilever who also make Axe with their unbearably sexist ads. Talk about a mixed message. :P
Posted by Nikita
October 3, 2007, 6:11 PM
what Nikita said
It's really disgusting and telling that Unilever's putting this ad out... using fake concern as an advertising gimmick.
How sick
Posted by emk
October 27, 2007, 11:47 PM
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