How Dove became a Feel-Good Brand
Beauty is not what we’d traditionally categorise as a feel-good market. The industry typically relies on feelings of consumer inadequacy and celebrity culture to drive, develop, and promote its products.
SoDove started with a statement, “Imagine a world where beauty is a source ofconfidence, not anxiety.” Concerned with the superficial direction of beauty was taking, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty sought to drive discussion around this topic and provoke global conversation. In the process,they aligned themselves as one of the world’s leading feel-good brands,concerned on a fundamental level with self-confidence, well-being, and the wider definition of female beauty.
What was Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty?
The campaign launched in 2004 with an ad featuring women who did not conform to stereotypical beauty norms. The campaign challenged viewers’ perceptions through the use of real women and unconventional beauty, encouraging them to reassess their preconceptions with real beauty in mind. This lead naturally into the second, and perhaps most influential, stage of the campaign, promoting six women with real bodies and real curves across national television.
The campaign was a hit. Thousands of women spoke up in support of both the campaign and the six women who had embodied it, debunking the stereotype that only thinis beautiful and celebrating real beauty in all its forms. The campaign resonated so strongly with the general public that over the next ten years, media spotlights, journalism coverage, and public discourse around the subject of beauty would repeatedly cite the campaign as a turning point in public understanding.
Why was the campaign so successful?
Much like Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign, the message behind the campaign for Real Beauty was one of empowerment. During their initial research, Dove found that only 2% of women worldwide would describe themselves as beautiful. The key to their studies — and the success of the campaign — was their human approach. By taking a delicate issue and bringing it back to its roots, Dove conveyed an incredible amount of brand sensitivity, understanding, and proactivity.
The campaign was so successful that it set of a trend for getting cosmetic treatments, from Botox to whiter teeth across London.
The issue of real beauty is both topical and timeless. This meant that when the campaign launched, almost everyone was touched by it and could empathise with the campaign to a certain degree. Empathy leads to engagement. By showing that they understood and that they cared, Dove inspired vast levels of public engagement.
The Campaign for Real Beauty was fuelled by feel-good values. Everything from the Big Idea to the campaign’s execution aimed to invert the misguided perception that beauty was thin, shallow, and physical. Inspiration is motivating, helping thousands of women of all ages throughout the UK feel more comfortable, beautiful, and happy in their skin.
Feel-good Campaigns
Dove’s efforts did not stop with their Campaign for Real Beauty. Understanding that low self-esteem and poor confidence directly impact the real-life potential of girls and women across the globe, Dove established the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. The same year, they produced and launched a commercial called Little Girls, which they released on the Super Bowl to an audience of 89 million viewers. Far from moving on after their campaign, Dove continued to align itself with real beauty. Brand consistency is key to consumer confidence; by continuing to promote and celebrate its Campaign for Real Beauty values across numerous channels and platforms, Dove has become a feel-good figurehead to both its consumers and the wider public.
Dove launched the third stage of its Campaign for Real Beauty in February 2007. In this study, Beauty Comes of Age, Dove revealed that “91% of women aged between 50–64 believe it’s time for society to change its views about women and ageing”. Dove continues to celebrate real beauty today, most recently with its Dove Movement for Self-Esteem.
By tapping into emotive subjects, empathising with consumers, and treating them as human beings with real values and feelings,feel-good campaigns can transform brands into positive global figureheads like Dove.
