Doves 'Real Women' Campaign

When the Dove team decided to use real women instead of professional models to launch its new Firming range, it was clear that this was going be no ordinary advertising campaign. With a refreshing take on beauty, a celebrity photographer, and real women with real curves, the promotion had all the ingredients to get people talking. Through clever use of public relations, Dove managed to achieve massive media coverage, including a national debate on body shapes.

The Objective
Drive sales of the new "firming" range and strike a blow for women's self-esteem.

The Insight
We researched beauty advertising, women’s attitudes to their body shapes, and which celebrity role models they most admired. We found that women felt intimidated and depressed by the prevalence of 'stick-thin' models. This gave us the insight we needed to launch a campaign women can relate to, and build a story for the media.

The Concept
Rejecting the 'airbrush treatment' that we've come to expect from beauty advertising, Dove would feature ordinary women of all shapes and sizes, and photograph them in their underwear.
The first groundbreaking campaign proved so popular that Dove decided to conduct a nationwide search for the next group of 'Firm Friends' – The Sun was given the exclusive. Using regional press, women were then invited to apply, and nine groups of women were shortlisted. Five friends from Portsmouth, calling themselves 'The Mermaids', were chosen as the winners and appeared in the next campaign.
But the stripping didn’t end there. Giving the campaign another twist, Dove’s own marketing team were the next group to (almost) bare all. It was a natural step. After finally being exposed to real women on posters, the public got to see the real women behind the posters.