Case Study
50 Years of Dove: The Story of a Brand (1955-2005)
(Feature Article for Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide’s Intranet)
Brand History Dove. 50 years ago, it was a beauty bar offering a revolutionary new formula containing 1/4 cleansing cream. It went beyond mere "soap" to enhance the American woman's beauty. Today it is a global masterbrand with products ranging from the original beauty bar to facial foam, to deodorant to shampoo. Its latest campaign sets out to widen and redefine the perception of beauty, to make a positive contribution to women's self-esteem all over the world. Dubbed "Product X" in early 1953, the Dove beauty bar was a new product in a trifecta of Lever Brothers accounts hard-won by David Ogilvy, then a young ad exec for Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, Inc. While Lever Bros. announced HOB&M's appointment as the agency for their new product in June of '53, it wasn't until 1955 that the first advertising ran and the message: "1/4 Cleansing Cream" along with Dove's other standard messaging was developed. And, even though beauty trends and the representation of women have changed throughout the decades, the consistency of Dove's and David Ogilvy's original messages: "1/4 Cleansing Cream"; "Dove Won't Dry Your Skin Like Soap Can"; "Dove is Good for Your Skin" is still selling the brand today. So in 2005, we celebrate 50 years of Dove's relationship with women. Dove has evolved as a brand in the most revolutionary time in women's history. The body of work not only shows the evolution of Dove as a brand, it also shows how the attitudes of women and their role in society has changed in the past 50 years.
1950s DOVE PRIMARY MESSAGING DEVELOPED When David Ogilvy started working with Lever on Dove, he relentlessly interrogated the product people for a point of difference. He discovered that stearic acid, the more technical name for "cleansing cream", was the key ingredient on Dove. In 1955, the Dove beauty bar was launched as a superior product with a real
(Feature Article for Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide’s Intranet)
Brand History Dove. 50 years ago, it was a beauty bar offering a revolutionary new formula containing 1/4 cleansing cream. It went beyond mere "soap" to enhance the American woman's beauty. Today it is a global masterbrand with products ranging from the original beauty bar to facial foam, to deodorant to shampoo. Its latest campaign sets out to widen and redefine the perception of beauty, to make a positive contribution to women's self-esteem all over the world. Dubbed "Product X" in early 1953, the Dove beauty bar was a new product in a trifecta of Lever Brothers accounts hard-won by David Ogilvy, then a young ad exec for Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, Inc. While Lever Bros. announced HOB&M's appointment as the agency for their new product in June of '53, it wasn't until 1955 that the first advertising ran and the message: "1/4 Cleansing Cream" along with Dove's other standard messaging was developed. And, even though beauty trends and the representation of women have changed throughout the decades, the consistency of Dove's and David Ogilvy's original messages: "1/4 Cleansing Cream"; "Dove Won't Dry Your Skin Like Soap Can"; "Dove is Good for Your Skin" is still selling the brand today. So in 2005, we celebrate 50 years of Dove's relationship with women. Dove has evolved as a brand in the most revolutionary time in women's history. The body of work not only shows the evolution of Dove as a brand, it also shows how the attitudes of women and their role in society has changed in the past 50 years.
1950s DOVE PRIMARY MESSAGING DEVELOPED When David Ogilvy started working with Lever on Dove, he relentlessly interrogated the product people for a point of difference. He discovered that stearic acid, the more technical name for "cleansing cream", was the key ingredient on Dove. In 1955, the Dove beauty bar was launched as a superior product with a real