Dove Real Beauty Campaign

I was so happy with the class discussion today after our presentation. It really made me happy to hear people talk passionately about the issues around media, self-esteem and self-image, because it is something I feel really strongly about, especially after doing research and helping to create our magazine.

I was thinking about the discussion after class, and decided to do a bit more research, specifically looking at the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. I was really interested to find out a bit more about this campaign, especially after hearing what some people had to say about it in class.

I found a lot of websites that looked at some of the controversy around these advertisements by Dove. There have been accusations of digital alterations made to these ads, which completely contradicts the entire basis of their campaign. Also, like Breanne mentioned today, Dove is owned by the same company (Unilever) that also owns Axe, Slim-Fast, and Pond's. The article I've linked to here describes how "Unilever is engaging female bloggers and journalists to share the message of 'global self-esteem' in Canada — at the same time that the company produces the type of international commercials that the campaign criticizes." This article goes on to discuss some of the examples of how this Unilever markets their different products around the world, and it really could not be more of a confusing, contradictory mixed message to women.

This information made me so frustrated, but also made me even more passionate about the need to teach our children today to be critical of the information and messages they're getting in the media.