The English language’s greatest writer once wrote, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” And 400 years later an English owned firm compares women to… bottles of shampoo?
As we mentioned in one of our “Top Stories,” Dove has come under fire for the latest step in their Real Beauty campaign. The company, owned by UK conglomerate Unilever, designed a new line of beauty product bottles meant to reflect the shapes of…women. It didn’t exactly resonate with consumers. In fact, it’s inspired mockery. Jezebel, a website for women, said, “Dove is running out of ideas.”
Social media was deluged with criticism.
“I don’t identify myself with things in the shower.”
“I have arms. Please advise.”
“I hated my body but luckily I saw my body shape represented by a shampoo bottle and now I love myself.”
A college professor of advertising at the University of Illinois summed it up by saying it was a stupid idea to remind people how their body shape didn’t fit with the cultural ideal.
Ogilvy & Mather’s London office defended the campaign they created. An executive at the agency said, “A message about our body conveyed by Dove bottles themselves, it brings brand essence and product design seamlessly together.” Well, the message might have worked a lot better if was just on the bottle.
We have a great deal of respect for iconic global agencies like Ogilvy, and Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign has received accolades for its socially-conscious advertising. But this particular case made us wonder, “What were they thinking?”
Why Dove Missed The Mark
How did Dove miss the mark so badly? Well for one thing, they didn’t think about this in other ways. How would customers at a restaurant feel and react if the plate their food was served on was shaped to match their body?
This was a failure of testing. We seriously doubt Dove put out the new packaging without testing it first. So, the first thing Dove has to do is figure out why the testing didn’t tell them NO! While packaging is certainly part of marketing, data actually shows shoppers pick soaps, body washes and shampoos based on fragrance and price.
One advertising professor who is also a student of consumer psychology stated with appropriate sarcasm, “I’m going to buy this because it has a pear shape just like me.”And, she might have hit the nail on the head, when she suggested, “It doesn’t seem like this was a woman’s idea.”
We Know How To Target
During our 20-years in business we’ve targeted every demographic. Our concepts are creative but always balanced by common sense. The first commandment of advertising is, “Thou shalt not offend anyone.” If you are in the market for a campaign give us a call or contact us through our webpage.