When Dove launched this promotional video a couple of years ago, it felt like a breath of fresh air. For it was one of the few ads that seemed to talk about a rarely addressed issue. That of how women see ourselves. The slightly discomfiting issue however is that Unilever who own Dove also own dubious fairness creams like Fair & Lovely (although technically it’s owned by Hindustan Lever in India) and sell us deodorants that promise smooth underarms (what? were you not worried about how wrinkly they are?). They peddle us insecurities and then tell us we should be comfortable in our skin. Odd, don’t you think? That said, the video got people talking and polarised opinion. Notice how there is no product being shown and the branding appears only at the very end. See what you make of it.

Cross posted on my Linkedin page. Header image is a screen grab from Dove Real Beauty Sketches