It’s been 10 years since Dove launched its groundbreaking “Campaign for Real Beauty.” It’s won a plethora of ad awards, sold plenty of product, sales have jumped to $4 billion today from $2.5 billion in its inaugural year. But has it changed perceptions?
Ad Age today reported that Dove claims it has. “Research from Harvard psychologist Nancy Etcoff examining the campaign then and now finds more women today define beauty on a wider array of qualities beyond looks, such as confidence. It also concludes that women now base their ideas of beauty more on social media than traditional media. The research was funded by Unilever, but Dove isn’t trying to be too vain about it. “I’m sure we’ve played some part,” said Steve Miles, senior VP-global marketing. Here’s a look at six historical highlights — and lowlights — of “Real Beauty.”
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its “Real Beauty” campaign, Unilever’s Dove has created “Selfie,” a 10-minute documentary bound for the Sundance Film Festival:
To re-visit (or in case you missed them) the entire campaign over the last ten years click here. We’ve also included our favourite Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ video below – ‘Real Beauty Sketches’, which featured a police sketch artist who contrasted how women describe themselves to the prettier versions described by others. This clip became the most watched viral ad of all time, only one month after upload.