Unbecoming Levity :: Real Beauty

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Real Beauty

by Abacquer on Fri 29 Jul 2005 11:00 AM EDT | Permanent Link | Cosmos

This is a subject I've commented on before. Basically the idea is that there is beauty in everyone. I don't buy into that one-size-fits-all mold of beauty (i.e. waif-thin-big-tits) and I generally find that many women that are idolized as beautiful look somewhat freakish to me. Because most women do not look like that, and I know many women I think are beautiful and yet none of them are supermodels. While walking through the Burlington Mall the other day I saw an ad for something called the "Dove Soap Campaign for Real Beauty"...

Depicted on the ad was a kindergarten teacher named Julie posing in simple white underwear with her hands on her hips and a confident grin on her face. I was very pleased--this woman had hips and a tummy, and she was beautiful. Apparently Dove Soap has launched a new ad campaign to sell a product that theoretically replenishes and firms the skin. Whether the product works or not, and whether or not Dove sees its message as anything other than a way to make money, I'm very happy to see the message getting out. It's long overdue:

From the Dove Soap Campaign for Real Beauty website:

For too long
beauty has been defined by narrow, stifling stereotypes.
You've told us it's time to change all that.
We agree.
Because we believe real beauty comes
in many shapes, sizes, and ages.
It is why we started the Campaign for Real Beauty.
And why we hope you'll take part.

Changing attitudes is a long process, and it has to start somewhere... even if it's just some company trying to make a buck. I laud the effort anyway. Bravo.

EDIT: WBUR's excellent program The Connection recently aired a show about this marketing campaign.

Posted to:

Comments

Re: Real Beauty

by briwei on Tue 02 Aug 2005 02:37 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I'm a bit too cynical to laud the effort. To me it's more like, let's get money from women who don't feel good about themselves because of the mainstream media.

I suppose if it makes people feel good about themselves, it's a good thi8ng. But why must there always be a dollar sign attached?

Re: Real Beauty

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Aug 2005 01:10 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

That the effort must be driven by the almighty dollar is doubtless a sad commentary on our society, but I don't think that necessarily cheapens potential positive outcomes from the effort itself.

I maintain that an ad campaign that displays a woman who has big hips and some meat on her bones and says "this woman is beautiful" definitely has a positive impact on society, even if the people putting the campaign together do so with the sole intent of making money. Yes perhaps some women will switch from Irish Spring to Dove because of a subconscious belief that Dove is friendlier to real women or that Dove makes her feel beautiful, but the campaign reinforces other subconscious beliefs, which is that an ordinary 60 year old woman is beautiful, that a heavyset befreckled redhead is beautiful, that in fact there is beauty in everyone.

A typical cosmetic ad reinforces the idea that you're beautiful if you look like Laetitia Casta, this campaign reinforces the idea that you already *are* beautiful, and ain't Dove a great company for pointing that out?

I don't care about Dove's self-serving motivations. I'm glad someone with enough money to buy up airtime is displaying alternative beauty instead of the same old unrealistic model that most women simply can't ever be.

Re: Real Beauty

by Maggie on Thu 04 Aug 2005 01:36 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I don't see how this ad is going to make people feel good about themselves. I think it could make people feel worse, because most people aren't as attractive as those girls. So now, not only am I not as pretty as a supermodel, but I'm not as pretty as "regular" person either. It kind of reminds me of the Title 9 catalog, which is athletic clothing for women. Their catalog features the clothing modeled by "real" women, like "Kelly," a doctor and mother of four who's a surf champion (I made that up, I chucked the catalog, but that's the kind of "real" woman who's featured). Oh, and of course "Kelly" is gorgeous with a fabulous figure. Yeah, I feel really good about myself looking at "Kelly," when I'm a chubby stay-at-home mom who just wants some new running gear so I can maintain my marginal fitness.

And, of course, as James points out, it reinforces that this is my value -- my external beauty.

Re: Real Beauty

by JPB on Wed 03 Aug 2005 08:08 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I have a lot of stuff to say about this, but no time or energy to say it.

Brian: it's not you who is cynical here. It's Dove's effort that is cynical. You are realistic.

Re: Real Beauty

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Aug 2005 08:37 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

When you find the time and energy, I hope you come back and explain, because I'm truly interested in your opinion.

Re: Real Beauty

by Abacquer on Wed 03 Aug 2005 08:40 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

PS: You may want to listen to the audio of The Connection radio show I linked to. A lot of good points were raised on that show both for and against.

Re: Real Beauty

by JPB on Thu 04 Aug 2005 12:04 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I did listen to it last week, and it reinforced much of my opinion, because they admit that the ad campaign worked in the UK and that's why they were repeating it here.

The exploitation of women is not in whether you are showing a woman with this sort of appearance or that sort of appearance. It's in the idea (heavily reinforced here) that appearance is where women get their value.

In any case advertising is a mindfsck. This is more of the same.

Re: Real Beauty

by JPB on Thu 04 Aug 2005 12:11 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I actually spent a few hour last week on the day before Jim died writing a blog post in response to this, but only a few clear points came out of it and I realized I had a lot more thinking to do. Then reality intruded and I didn't want to leave a half-baked post on my site about it.

If they want me to think they're being honest, they ought to stick to talking about what their soap does, which is help you clean yourself. Not tell you you look like a supermodel when you don't. Not tell you you ought to. Not tell you you are beautiful. Not tell you that everyone is beautiful and that beauty is therefore meaningless. Basically, they can lay off the bullshit. But, if they can't do that (and they can't) they can stop asking me to believe they are and not insult my intelligence.

Re: Real Beauty

by Maggie on Thu 04 Aug 2005 01:27 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Right on, James. The stuff binds with the dirt on your body and helps you to rinse it off, just like every other frickin' soap since people had the time and the desire to be clean.

And that has *what* to do with the ad campaign?

And right on to Julie, too. "Pits" unite! Power to the pits! Their ad campaigns are the pits! I'll shout it from the rooftops! I have armpits, and I'm proud!!!

Look out... you never know what body part will be targeted for its offensiveness next...

he he he he he he he he he

Re: Real Beauty

by Maggie on Thu 04 Aug 2005 11:46 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Those women look a lot alike to me. Cellulite has been air-brushed out, they're all roughly the same size, which is a little overweight but not obese, they've all gained weight in a pleasing way (proportionally), they all have beautiful faces, they all have very nice hairstyles, looks like their teeth are perfect and white...

I'm sorry, what was the point of the campaign? Give me a break. Dove can bite my dimpled white ass. Screw them for adding to women's insecurity to make money and then using that to launch a whole new campaign to make money.

I can think of a lot of ways to make money that take advantage of people. I'm certain I could amass the capital to buy a Dunkin' Donuts franchise, for example. The guy who owns the three in town is filthy rich. What stops me? My conscience. Screw Dove and the ark they rode in on.

Re: Real Beauty

by J. Sandstormer on Thu 04 Aug 2005 12:37 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Dove is also the brand whose deodorant is supposed to transform your "armpits" into "underarms" in seven days. You see, merely shaving them and keeping them from getting stinky is no longer good enough. Now we should also worry about whether the skin we're scraping a razor blade across a couple of times a week is nice and soft.

This is, of course, presented as a positive thing. No longer must we endure the horror of... uh... whatever it is we're supposed to be horrified about. And you can bet that there are now going to be some gullible people who actually are horrified that their armpits aren't as soft and smooth as a baby's butt. (And the deodorant isn't going to make a damn bit of difference, so the quest will never end.)

Ah yes. Here it is. http://www.dove.com/your_skin/apdeo.asp

Give me a break.

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