A picture began to circle the internet not long after the 'Dove- Real Beauty'- skincare campaign came out that drew comparisons between Dove and the famous Victoria's Secret's 'Love my Body.' The picture gained online fame thanks to the differences between the stick-thin, airbrushed models and the 'real women,' and begged the long-unanswered question, 'what is beauty?'
Consumers were outraged. Clearly, the models in the top image are beautiful. They are sexy, confident, and give off the image of absolute perfection. But are the Dove women not equally beautiful? These women look like they have character, after all.
Well, the campaigns, all though giving off completely different messages, are more alike than you may think at a first glance.
After all. They're both made with the same goal in mind...
First of all, lets break this down. We have in the blue corner, Victoria's Secret: the not-so-hidden fantasy of your stereotypical lusting male. The company sells underwear (as well as a few other related products), and is famous for the absurdly beautiful 'Secret Angels,' which is the nickname of the team of models that work for the company. Their 'Love Your Body' campaign is one of many meant to make girls buy lingerie- because they could be as sexy as an Angel if they wore this. The ad targets insecurities and pushes the message 'be perfect.'
In the red, we have Dove. A multi-billion dollar company that encourages the everyday woman to enjoy their large range of hair and skin-care products. The strongest punch Dove has to pull is their targeted advertising that looks at all things of 'real beauty'- everyday women who use everyday Dove products. It calls out the rest of the media's ideas of beauty and sends out the message 'you don't have to be skinny to be beautiful- just be yourself.'
But don't be fooled- for Dove, beauty is still skin deep, isn't it? Otherwise they wouldn't sell anything. And that's what they really want- at the end of the day, does Dove really care about womens' self-esteem, or do they care about how much their sales will sky rocket if everyone thinks that they care?
Take another look at the picture up the top.
You have the Angels, staring confidently at the camera. They're all about the same height, the same body weight/type, and politically, ethnically diverse. Everyone is content in just their underwear, because everyone in that picture is beautiful.
You have the Dove models, staring confidently at the camera. They're all about the same height, the same body weight/type, and politically, ethnically diverse. Everyone is content in just their underwear, because everyone in that picture is beautiful.
As superficially diverse as it seems, Dove is still branding a specific image of beauty into the minds of consumers. This is their 'real' beauty- not skinny, but not overly fat, either. Not too tall, not too short. Not one of the women in this particular image are obviously scarred.
So what's the difference?
And what effect does this have on their audience? Can we argue that Dove is any more realistic than the Secret Angels?
What's happening, is that instead of growing up feeling the need to be perfect and to stand out as a goddess, teenage girls are encouraged to be beautiful and fit in. Don't stand out at all. Be comfortable with the ordinary.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. For people suffering from self-esteem issues (thanks, advertising,) this campaign could be great. It's selling point is that it promotes self-esteem, after all. Everyone can be ordinary!
But that's just what all these women look like- ordinary. There's no diversity in the Dove ads, any more than there is in the Victoria's Secret's. Be healthy, that's good- but not too healthy, you might get too thin. Then you wouldn't be as realistically beautiful as these women are.
The danger of these ads is that teenaged girls growing up with these ads are encouraged not to be individual- not to stand up and stand out.
Personally, I think the ads are fine in theory. I'd just rather they show more diversity- and explored even more how the everyday women can be empowered by being different.
But that's just what all these women look like- ordinary. There's no diversity in the Dove ads, any more than there is in the Victoria's Secret's. Be healthy, that's good- but not too healthy, you might get too thin. Then you wouldn't be as realistically beautiful as these women are.
The danger of these ads is that teenaged girls growing up with these ads are encouraged not to be individual- not to stand up and stand out.
Personally, I think the ads are fine in theory. I'd just rather they show more diversity- and explored even more how the everyday women can be empowered by being different.
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