By Saira Hussain.
The Real Beauty Sketches Campain quickly became a viral phenomenon but few critics and consumers felt that the video, used in campaign, actually highlighted beauty stereotypes by illustrating one sketch as uglier than the other.
The campaign included a the three-minute video showing a number of women sitting behind a curtain describing themselves to a forensic sketch artist. The women used unappealing language for themselves describing traits like bulging chins, big foreheads and chubby faces. The artist submissively draws those imperfections.
These women were the asked to have a conversation with other females. These females were then asked to define the woman, they had conversation with, to the forensic artist. The artist made second sketch of the ladies.
Towards the end, all women are visibly moved by the differences between the pictures made from their own descriptions and the pictures drawn from other people’s descriptions.
Some critics considered the campaign to be hypocritical since it came from Unilever, who are also the makers of Axe, Slim-Fast and more. The campaign was also criticized for making beauty the pinnacle of success, since it spots beauty as the benchmark by which women can measure themselves.
Critics have also pointed out how the prettier facial images looked comparatively thinner and younger. If that is the only crux of beauty, then dove is ultimately spreading out a message, for the ones who are not thinner or younger, that they are probably not beautiful.
Dove claims that their core message through this campaign was to tell their customers that they are more beautiful than they think.
Dove wants the women to feel more confident about themselves. Viewers say that it’s energizing to see an ad that tackles a genuine problem, otherwise modern marketing is trying to turn women into sex objects, exploited housewives or shopaholics.
