Advertising and Dove
It‟s everywhere; in every direction we look. It‟s on the way to the train station, it‟s in the train on the wall beside our seat, and it‟s even on our coffee cup we just bought from Starbucks. It‟s unavoidable. You can try to run away from it, but it always catches up to you. You can pretend like it doesn‟t affect you, but ultimately it always does. It‟s powerful. It‟s much stronger then we realize. It can manipulate people into thinking a certain way, influence people to do something, and even change cultural opinion. What is it? It‟s none other than advertising. With the right research, look, and design an advertisement has the capabilities to change the way people think of a certain product.
Take Dove for example. Prior to 2004, this international mega brand used advertising tactics much like many beauty brands in the industry were using- skinny models, sexual innuendos, and trendy images.
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But their products weren‟t getting the success they hoped for. Driven by a declining market share and decreased sales, Dove decided to take a daring new move and use curvier women in their ads. They called their new campaign the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty”. The campaign, which targeted women of all shapes and sizes, sought to reverse the fabricated idea that all women should be a size 2 with voluptuous lips, perfect hair, and toned skin. Ultimately, Dove hoped that the campaign would change the way their target audience related to their products. They never could have imagined the campaign would get so much attention, spark heated debate, and be a leading factor of increased sales and market share. So how exactly did Dove succeed in doing all this? Let‟s look at one of Dove‟s advertisements and analyze its relationship to the original product. One billboard sums up the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty” in a nutshell. The billboard, which advertises Dove‟s skin firming lotion, is just one example of Dove‟s newest campaign, which seeks to change the way Dove‟s
Take Dove for example. Prior to 2004, this international mega brand used advertising tactics much like many beauty brands in the industry were using- skinny models, sexual innuendos, and trendy images.
1
But their products weren‟t getting the success they hoped for. Driven by a declining market share and decreased sales, Dove decided to take a daring new move and use curvier women in their ads. They called their new campaign the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty”. The campaign, which targeted women of all shapes and sizes, sought to reverse the fabricated idea that all women should be a size 2 with voluptuous lips, perfect hair, and toned skin. Ultimately, Dove hoped that the campaign would change the way their target audience related to their products. They never could have imagined the campaign would get so much attention, spark heated debate, and be a leading factor of increased sales and market share. So how exactly did Dove succeed in doing all this? Let‟s look at one of Dove‟s advertisements and analyze its relationship to the original product. One billboard sums up the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty” in a nutshell. The billboard, which advertises Dove‟s skin firming lotion, is just one example of Dove‟s newest campaign, which seeks to change the way Dove‟s