You are more beautiful than you think!
A successful marketing campaign not only has the power to influence our buying decision but it can also stir powerful emotions in us. It can stay in our mind for a long time, even after purchase. One such marketing campaign that has stayed with me is Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’.
Women worldwide are still under pressure from the age-old definition of beauty that exists in our society, which may negatively affect their self-esteem. The statistics from market research suggests that only 4% of women describe themselves as beautiful, and around 54% believe that they are their own worst critic when it comes to looks.
To ignite a global conversation about the need to change the conventional definition of beauty, Dove started the ‘Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’. Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ is a short film produced in 2013 as a part of Dove’s ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’. The film aims to show women that they are more beautiful than they think of themselves by comparing their sketches made by their self-description with those made by the description of strangers.
The advertisement shows a sketch artist asking women to describe themselves from behind the curtain. Subsequently, he draws a portrait of the women based on the questions about the characteristics of their chin, hair, cheek, lips and other facial features. In the following setting, the sketch artist draws the women’s portrait as described by the stranger. The results were astonishing. There was a considerable gap between the images, how a woman sees herself and how others see her. The paintings made by the description of strangers were way more beautiful than those made by women’s self-description of themselves.
I happen to come across this campaign again as a part of a digital marketing program, and it still managed to generate the same emotions as it did back in the summer of 2013. It still reiterated the belief that beauty is everywhere and in everyone. The advertisement conveys the message of self-confidence, self-esteem and advocates to love ourselves just the way we are. It urges women to break free from the shackles of the stereotypical notion of beauty and appreciate what they have instead of over-analyzing themselves.
This campaign is also a noteworthy example of a powerful and engaging content and the emotions it can evoke in your target audience. The campaign struck a chord with the audience and quickly went viral within its release. It has been viewed almost 180 million times to date!
Memorable marketing campaigns give a brand identity, a personality and an emotion that buyer can associate with the brand. They tell a story that affects you on a personal level and difficult to forget. As told by Dove, You are more beautiful than you think.