Dove's Shampoo Bottles Touch a Nerve
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Dove's latest advertising from the "Real Beauty" campaign was mostly mocked. Shampoo bottles were designed to represent different body types, continuing with Dove's messaging about body positivity. Copy with the ad read,
From curvaceous to slender, tall to petite, and whatever your skin colour, shoe size or hair type, beauty comes in a million different shapes and sizes. Our six exclusive bottle designs represent this diversity: just like women, we wanted to show that our iconic bottle can come in all shapes and sizes, too.
Twitter responses were nasty, including Perez Hilton's round-up. (Read at your own risk.)
But an AdAge article reports little brand damage. A survey of 2,200 Americans found that 41% received a more favorable view of the brand, while only 9% felt less favorable. More people were likely to buy Dove products: 71% or 3 points higher than before seeing the ads.
Discussion:
- What's your view of the campaign? Is it "dumb," as Perez Hilton says, or something else?
- How do you account for the disconnect between the nasty reaction (or should we say, the reports of the reaction) and the survey results about the brand?
- Even the most cynical seem to agree that Dove is trying to do a good thing. Does no good deed go unpunished?
