Pretty to Perfect

Keywords: 

Dove, Real Beauty, Forensic Sketch Artist, Confidence, Image Distortion, Media, Photoshop timelapse

Dove is doing its part

Dove is a skin and beauty company that was first introduced in 1955. It is primarily known for its bar soap, shampoo and deodorant. In 2004, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty kicked off. Since then, it has capitalized on the social media and video markets to help push the message that all women (and men) are beautiful inside and out.

Forensic Sketch Artist

64.1 million -- that's the number of views this video campaign (below) has received on YouTube. Dove brought in a forensic sketch artist and invited quite a few women to describe how they view their facial features. The results are not only shocking, they are truly sad.

Because of how we (average women) feel what beautiful means (since we aren't models or actresses), we exaggerate how we view our "abnormal" features.

 

Time-lapse exposure

Dove also promoted another video where they showed how a real and normal-looking woman goes from being pretty to perfect. The video is a time-lapse so that viewers can see the process of how a woman's face goes from the studio to the billboards.

At the end of the video, a powerful statement reads: "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted."

I commend Dove, and I wish that other health and beauty companies would feel responsible to sell women products in a way that will make them feel confident and comfortable in their own skin.


Like I said in my first blog post ... maybe I'm ignorant and never noticed this push to show the truth; maybe I'm surrounded by women (online) who repeatedly share this information; or maybe a shift is starting. I can't help but think the latter is most plausible, and I'm glad these videos and campaigns exist.