Dove commercial strives to change the way consumers think about their bodies

By ALEX SPENCE

For more than 10 years, Dove has produced commercials for their Real Beauty Campaign, which launched in September 2004. Year after year, they create new commercials in hopes of widening the definition of beauty.

There are many skeptics that question Dove’s motives concerning this campaign and whether or not it is merely an ad for the company.

The Real Beauty Campaign produced multiple campaigns, including celebrating the beauty of women with curves and women over the age of 50.

These commercials strived to highlight the kind of beauty put on the shelves for many years while a size two body type took center stage.

The latest phase of the campaign focuses on self-esteem, and it is the most powerful in my opinion.

“Imagine a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety,” the Real Beauty Campaign says.

For this commercial, a group of women were chosen to meet with a forensic sketch artist, Gil Zamora. The women described themselves and another woman to Zamora, and without seeing them, he drew what he heard.

When the women looked at their drawings side by side, they stood in awe of how beautiful they looked in someone else’s eyes. They also realized how low their opinions of themselves really were.

As one woman looked at her sketches, Zamora asked her, “Do you think you are more beautiful then you say?”

The woman choked up, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head and agreed that she was.

Each imperfection that the women described of themselves was not noticed through the eyes of a stranger.

I believe this commercial opened the eyes of many women who lack self-confidence. At the very least, it made women take a second look in the mirror.

Society today shoves an image of what “beautiful” should look like down our throats, and it has severely impacted how we view ourselves.

Dove is attempting to change that.

They continue to attack this stereotype of beautiful through their campaigns, and they are not done yet.

On April 7, Dove released their latest commercial promoting self-confidence.

In this commercial, women are given the opportunity to walk through one of two doorways marked “beautiful” or “average,” and many are seen walking through the door labeled average.

Many have questioned this commercial, along with the entire Dove campaign.

The Daily Dot, an online newspaper, commented on Dove’s campaign, saying, “The folks over at Dove’s marketing department have been trying to capitalize on a growing rejection of overly-air brushed bodies.”

They also made a statement questioning whether the campaign has done anything but sell soap.

Of course, it is an ad for the company. Dove, just like any other company wants to sell their product.

They have found a way to do that while sending out a positive message, and I not only find there to be nothing wrong with that, I also commend them on it.

The world has been moving away from the stereotypical tall blonde bombshell and putting a greater focus toward a more natural kind of beauty.

While some will always promote the thigh gap, I stand with Dove and the Real Beauty Campaign, whether they are making money off of it or not.

Financial matters aside, I see this campaign as a small step to bettering the world, one bar of soap at a time.