Don’t get me wrong, I love what they’re doing. The problem is that many aren’t buying into those pictures as being truly beautiful. There’s still a part of us that looks at the women with the rolls or the wrinkles and we try, oh we try to look and say, “What beauty!”. The words aren’t effortless. We WANT to believe Dove. We know what we’re seeing is truth, but our eyes are still lured by the photoshopped woman on Vogue. Why? Because there’s something about perfection, even unattainable perfection, that entices us.
Don’t believe me?
Now, more than ever, our eyes see more than 400 ads every day by marketers telling us what beauty is.
Put a few oddball ads up with a visual that directly contradicts its mass, and even if heart agrees with it, we have a hard time wrapping our minds around it because it’s just… odd.
You know what gets me? The abs. I just want flat abs. I don’t think I’ve ever had the kind of abs I covet from the model in the magazine. She has them, so it must be possible. There’s something about trying to attain what we don’t have. There’s something about a woman who wants to conquer perfection, the unattainable, so we can stand confident at the end of the day as to say, “I’m finally perfect!”
The problem is, we never arrive. Even if we do attain some measure of great abs, we always strive for more perfection. We will always be 5 pounds away from our goal. Who teaches us that? Just throwing it out there, but the fact magazines take a perfectly beautiful model and photoshop her to be even thinner probably doesn’t help.
I’m thankful for counter-messages Dove is trying to send. We need more messages of the like so our minds can compute that is indeed beautiful. We have enough women who aren’t buying it, but they’re falling for it. Ask any woman if she thinks the message media is telling women is real, they will all say “no.” The reason we’re falling for it is because, whoever gets into our minds and hearts the most, wins.
To not fall for it, means we have to fight. Fight with our minds and hearts to buy into another message.
Who told us that an aging body with wrinkles is ugly?
Who told us to fight for a 20 year old’s body when we’re 40?
Who told us that grey hair should be covered up at all costs?
Who told us to not leave the house without having a teeth whitening treatment?
Who told us that a lil bump in the lower ab should be conquered at all costs?
They did.
It’s time we stop listening and choose to keep it real.
Tangibly, what does this look like? Why does it matter? What can be done? What do you think?
9 Responses to Where Dove’s campaign for real beauty falls short
Andrea
June 27, 2012
It’s very difficult…isn’t it?!?!?! For me, it’s a mental battle that includes a lot of self talk and truth speaking to my own head and heart.
Interesting that Dove and Axe are owned by the same company. Some pretty conflicting messages coming from the same company eh?
connie
June 27, 2012
SERIOUS?! Dove and Axe? wow. Yes, very opposing messages.
Karen Yates
June 27, 2012
Yes, I think the campaign is a step in the right direction. But it is so NOT enough. As you say, “We have to fight with our minds to buy another message!” We have to learn to focus on what we have rather than what we don’t have, which is health and strength and equality and opportunity and yes, beauty too. I do think holding other women accountable is probably important too. Next time I start whining about my upper arms someone should grab me, shake me and tell me to QUIT.
Sara Curdie
June 27, 2012
When I was in Uganda, we had a mission team come from Vancouver made up of older adults. None of the Ugandans believed the age of the team members because none of them had grey hair … it was all dyed! The Ugandan people couldn’t understand, because to them, grey hair is a sign of honour, shows you are older and have wisdom
connie
June 27, 2012
Whoo hoo! I need to go to Uganda! I have tons of “honour” LOL. I love that, Sara
Anu Sandhu Bhamra
June 27, 2012
I’ve never bought into the Dove campaign. Dove is owned by the same company (Unilever) that sells skin lightening products in India and tells women they can be professionals, get fancy grooms if they are light skinned! (Those who don’t know about this issue, can read my personal essay I wrote for the Globe and Mail four yrs ago.
http://tinyurl.com/7xfkhgj
You can google “Fair and lovely cream” and watch some of the ads that fill me with revulsion.
Real beauty, uh please!
connie
June 27, 2012
that’s awful, Anu!
Tim
June 28, 2012
Dove is selling soap. I doubt they’d hesitate to switch ad campaigns if someone showed them how it would sell more soap.
As for who are we listening too, it’s like what Paul said about tickling listening ears. We are willing to listen sometimes even when we know it’s bunk. Part of living in a fallen world I suppose.
Tim
connie
June 28, 2012
so true Tim. At the end of the day, marketing will do whatever it takes to sell a product.