Here at underscore we are big advocates for creating innovative digital marketing campaigns. We think Dove has done a great job at redefining advertising standards with their ‘Real Beauty’ campaign putting forth a new direction on the unrealistic ideals of how a woman ’should’ look; altogether redefining advertising standards and the way brands use advertising to engage us using real world attainable ideals.

Do women see themselves negatively and less accurately than strangers? According to this Dove campaign, yes they do. In the three-minute advert, an FBI trained forensic artist creates composite sketches based solely on the descriptions of their facial features provided by themselves. In the video for the campaign, the woman use phrases such as, “I have a pretty big forehead” or “(my chin) kind of protrudes a little bit”.

Earlier in the day, the woman spent time with a group of strangers although no one was told why. Later, these same strangers were brought into the room and the same FBI artist was asked to describe the woman who they had previously met and he had previously sketched. The end result and comparison of the profile sketches hung side by side forcomparison is profound. There is a definite correlation between what one might perceive as “negative sketches” produced from the women’s self description versus the final more accurate result of the sketches when a stranger described the women’s facial features, who used positive descriptions like, “she had a beautiful friendly smile”, resulting in much more accurate and positive facial features. This positive self-image campaign is an all to familiar echo that has become synonymous with the power woman’s beauty brand.

It highlights what we ourselves point out as negative attributes are actually simply negative interpretation which in other people’s eye’s are beautiful  qualities that we overlook. The campaign also points out individuality and being happy within own’s own skin is key and it’s unrealistic to look like an airbrushed billboard like we see in the London underground on the way to work.

Dove have done a great job at integrating their commercial intentions with exposing the shame that exists for woman through their beauty campaign which has been really successfully integrated into all digital marketing elements including social media, websites, Google ads, online workshops, television, You Tube and enewsletter elements. Additionally, social media has provided a platform for viewers of Dove’s real beauty campaign to discuss their like or dislike for the underlying premise of the campaign and express their thoughts in heated discussions.

The ‘Real Beauty’ campaign is the perfect example of an execution of a fantastic brand campaign idea, altogether successfully integrated and shared through social media and the online world generating virility and real time talk from fans across the globe, which is an outcome that we at underscore would have been proud of ourselves.

Today is a great day for new business
Today is a great day for new business