Dove "Real" Beauty Campaign

I had to do a post on Unilever owned Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty," for the sheer fact that if I have to hear about how beneficial and progressive Dove's advertising/marketing/PR campaign is one more time, I might shoot myself.  So here's the skinny (HA HA HA get it):  Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has been going on since its beginning in November of 2004.  The campaign was founded on results Dove obtained from conducting a global study on beauty, the most frequently used statistic being that only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful.  Since then, the Campaign has become hugely popular and well-known.

I remember when I first read about the campaign.  I believe it was in 2006, but the advertisements had not gotten big yet, I guess.  It was new to me.  It was either in Bitch or Bust magazine, and I remember reading about this fabulous new campaign to encourage self-confidence in women with real body types.  "Thank god," I thought.  "Finally."
Obviously, a million other women thought the same thing.  The campaign got extremely popular, and sales for Dove soon skyrocketed thereafter.
Then I found out Axe, the male body spray that showcases buxom women in degrading images to sell all of the brand's products, was owned by Unilever...the same company that owns Dove.
This was the first thing that began to sketch me out some about Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty".

(Some Axe ads:)

"On the bed or on the boudoir?"

"Save on your Axe.  Save on car washing."

"I shaved for today."

In 2006, Dove uploaded onto the internet their video entitled "Evolution"--a soon to be viral video which showed the process of making over models for advertisements, as well as the process of digital photo editing, creating illusionary beauty.

Fast forward to 2008.  The advertisements that made Dove's campaign so famous, and widely praised (shown below), are revealed to be heavily airbrushed.  In consideration with Dove's "Evolution" video, the hypocrisy is rather blatant.

Here, we have Dove telling us they want to transform hegemonic modern ideas that present unrealistic portraits of beauty...yet we are told this through digitally manipulated ads.  Thanks Dove, your conflicting ideas really challenge the norm.

The final blow to Doves campaign came last year, 2010.  An ad was posted on Craigslist by Dove and affiliates for a casting call in New York City.  It read:

 DOVE "REAL WOMEN" PRINT CASTING JUNE 28-30, 2010 in NYC
ABSOLUTELY NO ACTRESSES / MODELS OR REALITY SHOW PARTICIPANTS or ANY ONE CARRYING A HEADSHOT!!!!
REAL WOMEN ONLY!
LOOKING FOR 3-4 REAL WOMEN for a DOVE PRINT CAMPAIGN!

AGES 35-45, CAUCASIAN, HISPANIC, AFRICAN AMERICAN, & ASIAN!

SHOOT: SUNDAY, JULY 18 in NYC! MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE SHOOT!
RATE: $500 for Shoot date & if selected for Ad Campaign (running 2011) you will be paid $4000!
USAGE: 3 years unlimited print & web usage in N. America Only

YOU WILL BE PHOTOGRAPHED FOR THE CAMPAIGN IN A TOWEL!
BEAUTIFUL ARMS AND LEGS AND FACE WILL BE SHOWN!
MUST HAVE FLAWLESS SKIN, NO TATTOOS OR SCARS!
Well groomed and clean...Nice Bodies..NATURALLY, FIT Not too Curvy Not too Athletic.

Great Sparkling Personalities. Beautiful Smiles! A DOVE GIRL!!!
STYLISH AND COOL!
Beautiful HAIR & SKIN is a MUST!!! 

PLEASE SUBMIT SNAPSHOTS of FACE & BODY ASAP & WE WILL CALL YOU IN FOR A CASTING NEXT WEEK 6/28-6/30 in NYC!

Dove, of course, faced immediate backlash with the leak of this ad, promptly responding they were not responsible for the ad, and they were not aware their agents posted such ads.  Still...looking at Dove's "Real Beauty" advertisements, while their models are more diverse than your run of the mill runway models, it is noticeable that the hypocritical requirements listed in the Craigslist ad do seem to be the preference for Dove when it comes to choosing their models.

Personally, I certainly don't think Dove is at the top of the list of corporate demons to fight, but I do feel it gets way more credit than it deserves.  What do you think?

More:
Businessweek on airbrushed Dove ads
Dove blog rant and list of brands in campaign
Canadian Journal of Media Studies - Dove article
Advertising Age on airbrushed Dove ads
The Week - debate on Dove's hypocrisy
Jezebel on craigslist ad