The Evolution of Dove's Ad Campaign

I’ve written here in the recent past about the success of Dove’s Real Women ad campaign and their website, which features real women and what makes them beautiful.  As for what this campaign as done in terms of increasing U.S. revenue, I don’t have a number but highly suspect it’s gargantuan.  When Dove introduced the campaign in the U.K., revenues were up 700% in the first year.

Here’s what I really love about Dove - the Campaign for Real Beauty wasn’t a one-shot deal.  It certainly isn’t your typical American advertising strategy.  Did you see their commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl?  It’s for the Self Esteem fund, which focuses on the body image and self esteem issues every young girl faces.  When that ad ran the first time, the nationwide rallying cry of “Yes!” easily drowned out all the Rolling Stones fans at half time.  Dove says it created the Self Esteem fund “as an agent of change to educate girls and inspire women on a wider definition of beauty.”  With that ad, they moved one step closer towards their place in the Marketing to Women Hall of Fame.

So... just the other night I happened to catch the newest addition to the campaign.  It’s for Natural Glow lotion, with a husband telling the camera all about what it is that makes his wife beautiful.  He glows, he exudes reality, authenticity... and his wife doesn’t show up until the last few seconds of the ad.  It’s about beauty from the inside out... from a completely different perspective. 

Dove has shown you don’t have to have women in an ad to speak to women... there are many avenues to tapping into the powerful right brain of a female.

Yes, I know that Dove sells thigh-firming cream and wrinkle reducing serum.  So what?  That’s the business they’re in.  The heart of the message is that these products enhance the true, clean beauty that is you.  You are beautiful just as you are, whether you’re a girl, a young woman or a wife.

Dove is cookin’ with gas, hittin’ on all cylinders and leaving everyone in the dust.  This marketing campaign is in a constant state of ad evolution - always with the same core message but told from different perspectives. 

Different advertisers have tried (and failed) to copy Dove’s first round of the “authentic woman.”  They must be reeling from these latest one-two punches, with the realization that trying to copy a competitor’s strategy and message is futile.  Why doesn’t it work?  Because the campaign came from Dove’s heart, not theirs.

What is the message from your heart?  Are you telling women “we understand” when it comes to issues they face everyday?  Dove does it with self esteem issues; for you, it could be as easy as a woman’s need for more time in the day, safety for her family or leaving a better world for her children to live in. 

How will your business evolve in its next marketing campaign?

Comments

[Abi]

Great post. I too was totally won over by newest Dove commercial. It was so real that I could swear that man was talking about his wife in real life and they taped the segment in his living room. In the back of my mind I kept waiting for them to show me a picture of this woman who has so "captured" her husband - still halfway expecting it to a willowy model. Nope - a normal woman! How refreshing. That can never get old. I'm not a big-time buyer of special potion lotions. But now... I'm reconsidering.

[Gregg Stutts]

I think you nailed when you said others have failed because it wasn't from their hearts. What did you call it in Austin--women's cow pie detectors? More and more, whether it's men or women--it's a right brain thing--we'll detect what doesn't ring true. When a message is out of harmony with everything else around it--it will fail and eventually the organization will lose its credibility. Could be a business, a non-profit or a church.

[Jen Harris]

We are teaching this "Value Added Marketing" to our clints and they are absolutly loving the concept. They figure they have done enough yelling & it is time they focus on the customer's other needs and wants. I am now an avid Dove user because of their authinticity and what they stand for...more than just a clean face & smooth skin.

[Barbara Ashton]

Dove never ceases to amaze the women who are marketing to women, but do the men get it yet? Women are teaching the world about speaking from the heart, giving more than taking. It's not about slapping a price tag onto everything we do in business. It's about walking the talk, acting in faith, trusting that truth will follow truth. This is the gift that I see when wonders like Michelle write about companies like Dove who are talking not just about, but to, the beauty that does lie beneath in us all.

[Viaggiatore]

Michele, Michele... wherefore art thou, Michele?

Just wanted to let you know that my side of the world is too quiet when you're not regularly blogging. You must be out earning a living somewhere! Keep it up, girl!

By the way, I *loved* the reference to the connection to women via the 'way her husband sees her'. Very astute of you to pick up on, and so true. It's not all about things being pink and girly - it's about real, honest, emotional connections. Be honest and be real with me, and you can sell me (just about) anything.

Come back soon! -V(K).

[Luann Udell]

YES to authenticity!

I teach professional development skills to artists and craftspeople--I'm always telling them authenticity is at the heart of everything we do. A powerful message, whomever we market to, and one I'm glad to hear today.

Thanks for sharing your insights, I enjoy your blog!

[Barbara Ashton]

I am a huge fan of finding ways to sincerely communicate to real people, which in my opinion means talking sense to a woman first (the men always seem happy to follow later).
If Dove's real women marketing sets the stage for others to follow with sincerity and respect for "all" people, then let the band play on.

[sfrewerd]

Thanks for this. My light bulbs are all coming on at once...Now I have new ideas for how to approach a segment of my business that is already 'overdone' ...
I think I can develop a more authentic approach. Thank you!

[Maurice]

The campaign was great, just the right mix of daring and practical. But did it sell soap? My guess is that superficial American consumer isn't ready to let go of his/her fantasies of what beauty is and respond to the appeal of Dove's edgy new strategy.

[franki durbin]

Michelle, I also wrote about this wonderful campaign. Last night we saw a few new TV spots for the shampoos themselves. My husband made the comment aloud that the unifying quality of the women is that they radiate self confidence. He was able to see the core of the message even though it is aimed at women everywhere. Interestingly, these ads stirred up controversy partly because of the atypical size of some of the women in the images. This is ironic, when you consider that they just raised the national average weight for americans to 177 lbs - up from the 140's in the 70's! The campaign truly hits home for all of us who feel hammered every day by images of unattainable perfection. Even models are airbrushed - and young (and mature) women today might not recognize that. Good for Dove and other brands pushing the envelope of our perceptions - and good for all of us!

[amy soricelli]

Hi there,

I must say I have experienced a range of emotions regarding Dove - their current advertising campaign and Amy DiLuna’s reaction to it as described in todays Thersday section of the Daily News….”Fat’s Enough”.

As a 48 year old woman who is slowly watching my exterior self morph from a size -0 to a more comfortable 2 or 4….I am especially sensitive to advertisers and their ‘take on older women and their reactions to their own bodies”. While I may not love a 19 year old boy’s reaction to the photographs “looks like my Mom, too much information” I am appalled at the reaction of Ms. DiLuna….how unevolved her thinking is – how uptight, how uncool – how Unsisterly of you.

Perhaps you will be one of the lucky women who manage to wake up in her forties with the same perfect, smooth, wrinkle free body she enjoyed throughout her life. The reality of this is we will all change – some more than others – some less…..”don’t put them on billboards, their smooth skin rippling as they bend forward….Don’t make us flip over a magazine, only to be confronted with a smug lady who looks like she could be our grandma. If our grandma had a stripper streak…”.

And why not Amy? Are you afraid to, perhaps, get a glimpse of what may lie ahead for you? Are we only prepared to see the ultra skinny, the ultra wealthy, the ultra fixed? Our society is becoming older…there will be more older women as we are living longer….should we remain clothed and closeted? Aren’t the older women spending enough money on beauty products – don’t they deserve to applaud their place in the world? – their dollars certainly do…..

So shame on you Amy DiLuna…..you have set women back many years – we have worked long and hard to be who we are and to be proud of our bodies in all their imperfections…..and although you agree that “….just as we don’t want to see couture-clad skeletons – must the happy medium be models with more folds than an accordion greeting us first thing in the morning? Yikes” why not just say “only perfect people should be seen”. Perhaps then, only Perfect people will read your newspaper and then…as we know….

I hope future articles of this nature will be more kind to women – of all ages and sizes and shapes. Or perhaps, next time….a man should be writing an article about this subject…perhaps he would be a little more generous in his reaction – if for no other reason, out of respect for his mother and grandmother and aunts.

Amy Soricelli

Taylor Grey Inc.

369 Lexington Avenue

4th Floor

New York,N.Y. 10017

212 687-8100 ext. 231

212 687-4166

asoricelli@taylorgrey.com

[sarah strickett]

I am running an advertsing and rebranding short course in brighton and i can say with my hand on my heart that the new Dove campaign is the best so far, the genius behind this campaign is paramount .. well done !!!!