Dove campaign challenges beauty perceptions

Singapore - Unilever has launched a new ad campaign for Dove tagged Campaign For Real Beauty which comprises Asian-centric executions of a similar campaign running in the US and UK aimed at making women feel more beautiful by widening the stereotypical view of beauty.

"This campaign reaffirms what Dove has always stood for -- simplicity and honesty," said Toni Chew, Product Group Manager for Personal Care, Unilever Singapore. "We feature real women who lead real lives with real challenges so that people may realise that real beauty comes in different shapes, sizes, ages and colours.

"The mass media and popular culture portray female beauty as being model thin, youthful with large eyes and long hair," she added. "Through our communication, we want to set these unwritten rules straight and provoke a debate that initiates change in the way society sees beauty."

The print ads question whether stereotypical ‘model' attributes such as youth, slimness, breast size, single eyelids, freckles and short hair are required for women to be considered beautiful, and feature six different women with such characteristics. The campaign, targeted at the masses, appears on billboards in the Orchard Road area, on buses and online. Ogilvy & Mather created the ads while Mindshare Singapore handled media placement duties.