Dove: Real Beauty Sketches
January 23, 2014
“Dove: Real Beauty Sketches” by Ogilvy & Mather Ad Agency, April 14, 2013
< http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/ > In April 2013, Dove launched a “Real Beauty” campaign after performing marketing research and discovering that only 2% of all women consider themselves to be “beautiful”. In an effort to boost self-esteem and moral, Dove introduced a television ad in the form, which incorporated a powerful and touching social experiment. In this commercial, several different women are asked to describe their physical appearance to a forensic sketch artist, who cannot see them as he sketches their physical descriptions. They are told to use neutral terms, and to “stick to the facts” when describing their own self-reflections. Next, the same women are described to the same forensic sketch artist by a complete stranger, whom they had only met the day before. The strangers are given the same instructions. At the end of this unknown experiment, both descriptions are drawn by the artist and then compared. Upon comparison, it is incredibly obvious that the stranger’s physical descriptions of the subject are more flattering, and more accurate depict the subject’s true appearance. The commercial sends a very inspiring, real message to the women: to be less critical of yourself, and to embrace the natural beauty of womanhood. After the experiment took place, one woman admitted, “I should be more grateful of my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends we make; the jobs we apply for; how we treat our children; it impacts everything. It couldn’t be more critical to your happiness.” To the same point, another woman added, “we spend a lot of time as women analyzing and trying to fix the things that aren’t quite right, and we should spend more time appreciating the things that we do like.” The commercial ends with a powerful and honest message: “You are more beautiful than you think.” The “Real Beauty Sketches” ad resulted in widespread
“Dove: Real Beauty Sketches” by Ogilvy & Mather Ad Agency, April 14, 2013
< http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/ > In April 2013, Dove launched a “Real Beauty” campaign after performing marketing research and discovering that only 2% of all women consider themselves to be “beautiful”. In an effort to boost self-esteem and moral, Dove introduced a television ad in the form, which incorporated a powerful and touching social experiment. In this commercial, several different women are asked to describe their physical appearance to a forensic sketch artist, who cannot see them as he sketches their physical descriptions. They are told to use neutral terms, and to “stick to the facts” when describing their own self-reflections. Next, the same women are described to the same forensic sketch artist by a complete stranger, whom they had only met the day before. The strangers are given the same instructions. At the end of this unknown experiment, both descriptions are drawn by the artist and then compared. Upon comparison, it is incredibly obvious that the stranger’s physical descriptions of the subject are more flattering, and more accurate depict the subject’s true appearance. The commercial sends a very inspiring, real message to the women: to be less critical of yourself, and to embrace the natural beauty of womanhood. After the experiment took place, one woman admitted, “I should be more grateful of my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends we make; the jobs we apply for; how we treat our children; it impacts everything. It couldn’t be more critical to your happiness.” To the same point, another woman added, “we spend a lot of time as women analyzing and trying to fix the things that aren’t quite right, and we should spend more time appreciating the things that we do like.” The commercial ends with a powerful and honest message: “You are more beautiful than you think.” The “Real Beauty Sketches” ad resulted in widespread