Examination of one of the best emotional campaigns created

1. DOVE- “REAL BEAUTY SKETCHES”
Dove isabrandhavingitsoriginsfromU.S.,post-WorldWar2era.Itwasinitiallycalledabeautybarhaving
the claim that it would not dry out the skin like other soaps, in other words a moisturizing beauty bar.
Dove startedits advertisingcampaignwiththe message that the barwon’tdry your skinlike othersoaps
simplybecause itcontained cleansingcream. ThisbigideawasprojectedbyDove overthe nextfewyears
throughvariousadvertisingcampaignstilltheyear2000whenDove wastobecome amasterbrand,which
meant it was to enter the personal care category with products beyond its existing beauty bar, such as
hair care products, deodorants, facial cleansers etc.
In 2004 the brand team introduced a revolutionary campaign which set the brand apart from its
competition. The Big Idea now being “Real Beauty.” It was with this campaign that they broke the
stereotype of howwomenare judgedbasedontheirlooksandemphasisedmoreonwomen’sreal beauty.
Thiscampaignachieved mostof itsfame due tothe use of womenwhoseappearance wasoutsidethatof
the norm. Over the years the “Real Beauty” campaign used traditional advertising and later on Digital
advertising over social media by creating videos showing women expressing their real beauty.
In 2013 Dove shifted its focus from tackling stereotypes to a new enemy namely women’s insecurities
regarding feeling beautiful. To overcome this Dove, yet again, executed another brilliant big idea “Real
Beauty Sketches.” This was one of the most talked about campaigns till date. The idea was to engage
womenwhoput themselvesdown,intermsof beauty,to re-ignite the brandand in the enddrive value
sales by re-enforcing Dove’s emotional relevance to women.

2. The campaign was simple, it wanted to show women that they are a lot more beautiful than what they
projectthemselvestobe.It confrontedwomen’sself-image andsoughtouttoquestionanddiscovertheir
own real beauty. This campaign helped Dove differentiate itself further and helped the brand attain a
significantadvantage by redefiningattributes. Dove effectivelyconnectemotionallywiththe consumers.
It wentbeyondjustthe functional benefitsof aproduct,in fact it didnot show or talkabout the product
evenonce initscollateral.Itprojecteditself asabrandthattrulyknewthe realworldproblemthatwomen
were facingandhelpedmorallyboosttheiresteem. Dove,throughitsYouTubeandsocial mediachannels
also provided a platform for women to express themselves and their feelings which resulted in a
significant increase in engagement and membership of their digital pages.
Dove managed to hit the “Sweet Spot” and the video associated with the campaign became the most
watchedonline filmwithover114 millionviews (Stampler,2013) and was sharedover3.74 milliontimes
makingitthe thirdmostsharedvideo (Stampler,2013).The campaigninitiallywasrolledoutin4countries
(U.S., Canada, Brazil and Australia) and upon its success was spread to 110 countries in 25 different
languages.The campaign alsogot incredible PRcoverage andmanagedto attain 4 billionbloggermedia
impressions. Due tothe immensesuccessof the campaignitwasawardedthe CannesLionsInternational
Festival of Creativity’s highest honour, the Titanium Grand Prix and also won an Integrated Gold Lion.
Linkto Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk (3minute video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE (6minute video)
Bibliography
Dove. (n.d.). The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. Retrieved from Dove: http://www.dove.us/Social-
Mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx
Dove:real Beauty Sketches. (2014).Retrieved from WARC:
http://www.warc.com.ezproxy.humber.ca/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?MasterContentRef=dbd81a07-
5cbb-4d10-8553-584d20bc47bb&q=Dove+Real+beauty+sketches&CID=A101973&PUB=CANNES
Reed, L. C. (2015, Feburary 9). real Beauty Brings real Results for Dove's Marketing Campaign. Retrieved from Ohio
University Strategic social media :http://oustrategicsocialmedia.com/2015/02/09/real-beauty-brings-
real-results-for-doves-marketing-campaign/
Stampler, L. (2013, May 22). How Dove's 'Real Beauty Sketches' became the most viral video ad of all time.
Retrieved from Business Insider:http://www.businessinsider.com/how-doves-real-beauty-sketches-
became-the-most-viral-ad-video-of-all-time-2013-5