Beauty and the Beast

Dove ‘Real Beauty’ has been one of the most celebrated ad campaigns in recent times. Last week I met an account exec that worked on the business and she shared some interesting background on how this came to life.

The campaign was supported by a number of viral videos that challenged the way women are portrayed in advertising. Two of the most popular videos were Evolution and Onslaught.

While Dove was recognized for taking this important position, they were not immune to scrutiny. Greenpeace took issue with the fact that a major ingredient in Dove’s product line is palm oil, a substance harvested through mass deforestation. Greenpeace decided to take advantage of the popular Real Beauty videos and created their own campaign to shed light on Dove’s environmental practices. It’s interesting to see a highly regarded campaign undermined by an eco issue.