Does Dove's campaign equate beauty with value?
As part of their continued efforts to make positive messages part of their advertising, Dove has launched the #ChooseBeautiful campaign encouraging women to make the choice to feel beautiful.
Dove's new emotional video shows what women worldwide choose to do when confronted with doorways labeled "Beautiful," and "Average."
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A new survey by Dove finds that while 96% of women wouldn't describe themselves as beautiful, 80% say that there is something beautiful about them.
"Women make thousands of choices each day — related to their careers, their families, and, let’s not forget, themselves," Dove said in a statement. "Feeling beautiful is one of those choices that women should feel empowered to make for themselves, every day."
The aim of this new campaign is obviously positive, however it has been questioned whether Dove's hyper focus on beauty and size is beneficial. An Arizona State University study revealed that many women experienced lower self esteem after viewing ads such as Dove's "Real Women" campaign.
Of course, no one is saying this new spot focuses on physical beauty, and what Dove obviously means is that women are empowered to make the choice for how they see themselves, which is amazing. But there's just something about the dichotomy between "beautiful" and "average" that almost reinforces a problematic idea -- that there is a better and a worse, and it defines your self worth.
It's asking a lot of a beauty product brand to move away from the word beautiful in its marketing, but that might be a good way for Dove to breathe new life into its well-meaning ads.
What are your thoughts on Dove's #ChooseBeautiful campaign?
Lane Bryant has another new ad that has a lot of people talking. Watch the video below.