A woman contemplates her portraits
Oh dear. Someone got me started on the ol' Real Women thing again. Well, I say someone, I mean multinational consumer goods company Unilever, owners of Dove skincare. Who have launched a new campaign in the usual vein of Real Women, Tryin' Their Gosh-Darnedest With Dove Products over in America.
Oh, is it more people of different sizes and ethnicity dancing around having the time of their lives in white underwear? No, reader, no it is not. The party in white pants is over, it is time to get serious. Because guys, some women don't feel so good about themselves. Some women feel so...not good about themselves that they exaggerate the features they don't like about themselves and forget they actually look perfectly ordinary. I know I know, it's the self-esteem, stupid.
Oh, is it more people of different sizes and ethnicity dancing around having the time of their lives in white underwear? No, reader, no it is not. The party in white pants is over, it is time to get serious. Because guys, some women don't feel so good about themselves. Some women feel so...not good about themselves that they exaggerate the features they don't like about themselves and forget they actually look perfectly ordinary. I know I know, it's the self-esteem, stupid.
But don't worry, Dove has a plan. The women are led individually into a room (I think it's a loft, the room for reflection in any house) where a shadowy figure sits with his back to them at an easel. This is Gil Zamora a forensic composite artist who tells us he was trained at the FBI, guys they got the FBI in. Gil, pleasingly, in certain lights, looks like CSI's Gil Grissom.
The women were asked to describe their faces and hair to Gil Zamora who began to sketch his impression of their description. The women were filmed describing themselves the tone one uses when the scene isn't quite apparent. Also, because we all know the worst thing you can possibly do is come across as comfortable with your appearance, they aren't flattering so much as apologetic.
The women were asked to describe their faces and hair to Gil Zamora who began to sketch his impression of their description. The women were filmed describing themselves the tone one uses when the scene isn't quite apparent. Also, because we all know the worst thing you can possibly do is come across as comfortable with your appearance, they aren't flattering so much as apologetic.
| We know this is a Dove campaign, we know there's going to be a positive message about the skin we're in coming. But, just to reinforce this everybody, dark eye bags and crow's feet? Yeah they still aren't in and Dove considers them to be undesirable. Fat faces are undesirable, freckles are something to get rather pensive over and I hope for your sake your eyebrows aren't 'really dark'. | One woman nods sagely as she admires the forensic artist's etchings: "I have some work to do on myself". |
And here comes the twist. The women had been paired up and some were asked to describe their buddy. These are the good descriptions. Apparently a description Dickens would reserve for his most evil characters - 'thin face', 'short nose' (the unsaid end to that sentence: 'like Voldemort' left hanging in the air) and 'thin chin' are - going by the affectionate tones - Officially Pretty. Paired with Disney-esque characteristics no self-respecting person would give a forensic artist, “she had nice eyes, they lit up when she spoke†is very in and what women should be aspiring to.
The women are then sent out to go and admire in wonder the sketches the forensic artist had drawn going on their description and then their new friend's description of them. Of course the idea is that one sketch is ugly and sad - that's the original, then the other is the beautiful one that causes the scales to drop from their eyes and allows them to see themselves as others do. The thing is, the 'pretty' sketches had much less detail, a mole, freckles, a wrinkle? They actually give a face character. So the first sketches looked a little angrier than the seconds ones, I'd rather have a rant down the pub with some of the women in the first sketches than the other ones who have no personality.
One woman nods sagely as she admires the forensic artist's etchings: "I have some work to do on myself". Does she? Does she? Or do other Unilever owned brands such as Slim Fast, Lynx and, my favourite, skin lightening product line Fair and Lovely have some work to do? You know what? Where the hell does Unilever get off showing adverts like this, only to be shortly followed in the ad break by some pudgy guy getting the light skinned, svelte hot girl because he sprayed himself with Lynx? The message being you put deodorant on, you deserve this. This new Dove ad once again just asks women WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?
The slogan for this ad campaign is You Are More Beautiful Than You Think. Maybe, just maybe, Unilever et al, You Have More To Answer For Than You Think.
Squeamish Kate
The women are then sent out to go and admire in wonder the sketches the forensic artist had drawn going on their description and then their new friend's description of them. Of course the idea is that one sketch is ugly and sad - that's the original, then the other is the beautiful one that causes the scales to drop from their eyes and allows them to see themselves as others do. The thing is, the 'pretty' sketches had much less detail, a mole, freckles, a wrinkle? They actually give a face character. So the first sketches looked a little angrier than the seconds ones, I'd rather have a rant down the pub with some of the women in the first sketches than the other ones who have no personality.
One woman nods sagely as she admires the forensic artist's etchings: "I have some work to do on myself". Does she? Does she? Or do other Unilever owned brands such as Slim Fast, Lynx and, my favourite, skin lightening product line Fair and Lovely have some work to do? You know what? Where the hell does Unilever get off showing adverts like this, only to be shortly followed in the ad break by some pudgy guy getting the light skinned, svelte hot girl because he sprayed himself with Lynx? The message being you put deodorant on, you deserve this. This new Dove ad once again just asks women WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?
The slogan for this ad campaign is You Are More Beautiful Than You Think. Maybe, just maybe, Unilever et al, You Have More To Answer For Than You Think.
Squeamish Kate
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