And yet, the global Campaign for Real Beauty launched by Dove, which is part of the Unilever corporate empire, has clearly struck a chord everywhere judging by the amount of coverage it has received. You’ve probably seen its “evolution” ad on TV here in Turkey. It is quite striking: an average girl, pretty but slightly spotty, undergoes a spectacular transformation and turns into a supermodel in front of our eyes with the help of make-up artists, hairdressers and, yes, a touch of computer magic that elongates her neck by an inch and broadens her eyes. The message here is: don’t be fooled by the models you see in magazines. They’re not real.Despite the obvious commercial interests at stake, the campaign is a welcome antidote to the “extreme makeover” reality shows that advocate surgery to correct physical flaws, real and imagined. The characters that emerge out of this painful process look like Barbie dolls straight out of an assembly line, with their hair extensions and pumped-up lips.
As more and more reports show that a worrying percentage of young girls are starving themselves to reach size zero or considering going under the scalpel to achieve impossible ideals, any kind of advertising that celebrates “normal” people is welcome. The Dove commercials very cleverly target the women -- and there are many of all ages -- who feel they don’t quite fit into the current mold.
There are the photos of fleshy young women in underwear, proudly demonstrating that Real Women have Real Curves. Of course, it would be even more convincing if the pictures were not meant to sell firming cream, but many women will identify with these images.
The most talked-about part of the campaign is the “pro-age” segment, which focuses on radiant women in their fifties and sixties, tastefully photographed naked and without makeup. The company has cleverly spotted a market niche in the new generation of active and successful post-children women, who feel “too young to be old.” Anyone would look good shot through the lens of Annie Leibovitz, a talented photographer who is herself a handsome 50-something. I suspect we wouldn’t recognize the glamorous aging beauties if we met them pushing their trolleys through the aisles of the supermarket. But the idea is that beauty comes from within, and it’s a message most of us want to hear.
After all, we’re all in need of role models and until recently there have been precious few in the media for women who are not super-thin or super-young. Women are still too rarely praised for their intellectual achievements. This year, female middle-age triumphed in the Oscars when Judy Dench, Meryl Streep and of course the winner Helen Mirren, were all nominated for best actress. Even the gorgeous younger nominees, Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz, were different from the standard Hollywood types.
Throughout the ages, there have been stereotypes of beauty. From Chinese foot binding to waist-constricting corsets, impossible ideals have always been imposed on women. The difference today is that thanks to global advertising, beauty is now an industry worth billions, feeding the greed of the corporate world. Even men are no longer immune.
If the Dove ads were really to hit their target, the firm would go out of business. Somehow, I don’t think they considered it a serious risk when they launched their advertising campaign. Now shall I buy that firming cream?
