DOVE "Real Beauty Campaign/ Beautifully Real Mothers" Industry context

Question 1

What is “Dove”?

Answer 1

• A personal-care brand owned by Unilever, a multinational corporation that also owns brands like Axe & Lynx.

Question 2

What is the name of the marketing campaign?

Answer 2

• Real Beauty Campaign

Question 3

What is the Real Beauty Campaign?

Answer 3

• Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign was launched in 2004 to celebrate natural beauty and challenge traditional beauty standards.

Question 4

What was the marketing strategy behind the Real Beauty Campaign?

Answer 4

1. Position Dove as an ethical, socially responsible beauty brand.
2. Inc brand loyalty by appealing to women’s self esteem

Question 5

Was the Real Beauty Campaign successful?

Answer 5

• Commercially? The campaign succesfully inc sales of Dove products from $2 billion to $4 billion in 3 years.
• Culturally? Became a groundbreaking approach in the beauty industry by promoting body positivity and rejecting mainstream beauty standards.

Question 6

What is the Beautifully Real Mums Campaign (2017)?

Answer 6

• An extention of the Real Beauty Ethos, celberating mothers on their personal and unique journey’s through motherhood.

Question 7

What narrative does the BRM campaign follow?

Answer 7

• Builds on the narrative of body positivity, showing that beauty is not confined to the pre- or post-pregnancy ideal, but about embracing natural, real beauty at any stage.

Question 8

How was the BRM campaign promoted?

Answer 8

• Viral video content (testimonials) that was shared widely across platforms.
• The videos told real stories about the challenges and beauty of motherhood, tapping into emotional appeal (pathos) to resonate with mothers everywhere.

Question 9

How did the BRM create a sense of fandom/community?

Answer 9

• The campaign encouraged user-generated content with hashtags like #BeautifulMoms, allowing mothers to share their own experiences and stories.
• This digital interaction created a community where viewers could connect with the message and feel represented.

Question 10

What was the aim of the BRMC campaign?

Answer 10

• Commercially? Promote Dove’s baby care products
• Culturally? Challenge motherhood stereotypes, communicate the ideal mother is a construction and only real ones exist. To empower, unite and represent authentic motherhood.

Question 11

Who was the target audience of the campaign?

Answer 11

• Everyday millenial mothers
• Women from a variety of social groups
• Mothers who do not relate to the ‘ideal motherhood trope’

Question 12

Main competitors?

Answer 12

Johnson and Johnson have a majority market share (63.7%) with J&J Baby and Aveeno Baby products.

The campaign wanted to enable Dove could compete with Johnson and Johnson Baby product

Question 13

Main criticism?

Answer 13

• Inconsistent messaging- Dove promoted natural beauty, its parent company, Unilever, also marketed products like Axe, which often used overtly sexualized women in their advertisements.
• Critics argue that Dove’s campaign is a form of “femvertising” – using feminist rhetoric to market products.

While promoting inclusivity, Dove still operates within the capitalist framework, selling beauty products that align with societal beauty standards.