Dove

The battle over beauty is one that creeps its way into every young girl’s heart. It is ingrained in our very soul. We desire to feel beautiful, to be confirmed by the world. This desire for beauty is not wrong in and of itself. The problem comes from the perverted definition of beauty. There is no definition of beauty. No one thing that makes something beautiful. Beauty is multidimensional, it is unique, it is pure and it is extraordinary.

Type the word beauty into Google and the first few results involve cosmetics and celebrities. “Buy our product to become beautiful or five simple tips to look like Angelina Jolie.”

We have allowed our beauty to be defined the world. So what’s the big deal? The big deal is that the constant desire to look “beautiful” like everyone else sets us up to be insecure and never satisfied. In the search for universal beauty we have lost our own unique beauty.

Dove is a company that provides multiple different cleansing and personal care products. In 1957 Dove was born with their beauty soap bar that was shown to be milder on skin than other cleansing products. Dove is now the number one cleansing brand. (unilever.com)

In 2004 Dove created The Dove Self-Esteem Fund and the Campaign for Real Beauty.

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund’s mission statement is, “The Dove Self-Esteem Fund was developed to free the next generation from self-limiting beauty stereotypes. Committed to reaching five million young women by the end of 2010, we invited you to play a role in supporting and promotion a wider definition of beauty.” (dove.com)

Dove has interactive tools online that promote a healthy self-esteem. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund has self-esteem workshops that anyone can receive training for and then host a workshop themselves. Dove has distributed numerous videos that serve to promote the Campaign for Real Beauty. One of the most noted videos is the Beauty Evolution. In the video a very beautiful, but natural looking woman sits in a chair and is morphed into a supermodel. After being made over and photos taken the picture is then edited and her neck and eyes are enlarged. At the end of the video the woman looks nothing like herself and is on a billboard. The words “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” appear on the screen. (youtube.com)

Dove stands by its campaign in its advertisements. Dove has pro-age products instead of anti-aging products. Beautiful, but natural women appear in the advertisements. (dove.com)

Instead of partnering with a non-profit to be socially responsible, Dove has created a brand that is promoting a new definition of beauty. Rather than just creating a product or joining a non-profit Dove has created a brand that connects on a deeply personal level with their consumer.

Dove redefined Corporate Social Responsibility. From a business standpoint, why is CSR necessary? Essentially the public does not trust corporate companies. The public needs to feel as though they have a say in the product they buy. They need to feel that the product they are investing in is a worthy cause. Because the public does not trust corporate companies, the companies must work to show that they have a trustworthy operation.

Our society is socially aware. Environment, community involvement, and global awareness have all become vital entities of running a business successfully. Public opinion of a company plays a huge role in the financial success of a business. Do companies promote their social responsibility because they want more business or is it because they genuinely care about their cause?

Redefining corporate social responsibility and beauty, Dove has its hands full. With such a huge and noble undertaking it seems unthinkable that Dove would have any critics. Not true, Dove has run into great criticism for their campaign because Dove has a little known secret.

Dove is owned by the powerhouse manufacturer Unilever. Unilever also owns Axe. This unexpected relationship discredits Dove’s attempt to redefine beauty and cheapens it to a meager advertising campaign. Unilever’s attempt to cover all the bases of marketing has compromised their integrity. (contexts.org)

Dove promotes unique beauty, it empowers women. Axe promotes sex and women as sexual objects. Beauty is one dimensional in an Axe commercial. The women look like blow up dolls. Axe targets men, but women see it. It seems rather counteractive to tell men that women are supposed to look like lifeless and manufactured and then tell women are that they are supposed to be unique.

Is Corporate Social Responsibility bad? Is it all a lie? No! Corporate Social Responsibility can be great. If a corporation decides to make a product that is more environmentally friendly, or decides to donate money to a homeless shelter, or chooses to redefine beauty the efforts are not a lost cause. They still can make a huge impact on society. Like any product though it is important to do your research. Every company is trying to get you to buy their product. Great cause or not, there is a form of persuasion and maybe even manipulation of emotion involved in CSR. The most important thing to remember is that Dove like any other company is a business. They are selling a product. Dove is doing a great thing with their Campaign for Real Beauty. Dove has a quality product. Buy Dove for its campaign. Buy Dove for its product. Buy Dove as an informed consumer. You choose.