Dove: Make Peace with Yourself, Make Peace with the World

Dove: Camera Shy

Nowadays, brand loyalty has come into effect. Marketing is not directed merely at making a product desirable. It is directed at making the brand desirable. A trustworthy, respectful, eco-friendly, and justice-oriented brand is a respectable brand. And that is precisely what a brand seeks to sell—their image. Buy into their image of grandeur, or humility, or equality, or tolerance, or normality, or whatever…etc. etc. etc. Buy into the image and you will buy into not just a singular product, but an entire product line. If you buy into the narrative which underpins the brand image, you buy into all the things that that narrative embodies and encompasses. Because you see, the narrative is a deliberate construct, the provocation that beckons you unto a commodity. Or commodities via image managing.

Dove is a case in example. Dove has been emphasizing the importance of being yourself and being proud of yourself for a while now. If I recall correctly, they started off with highlighting women’s weight—that the ideal body shape isn’t found on the runway, it’s found in the mirror, whatever that may be. And Dove has founded its success, in my opinion, on this fundamental effort of running counter to celebrity culture. Here’s what I mean. You are beautiful precisely the way you are, Dove says, you do not need to be like the template beauties that the media creates for your consumption. Average people are anything but average. They are diverse, real individuals, who deserve recognition on this account and this account solely, and Dove offers them this recognition. Recognizes, appreciates, and applauds them for who they are. Dove’s products are not designed to turn you into a glam sham doll. They are designed to highlight your natural and idiosyncratic beauty, because every woman is beautiful. And the real and down to earth beauty that exists in the everyday is spoken about in Dove’s camera shy commercial (that has preceded so many youtube videos that it’s becoming a nuisance). Here’s what this commercial does for me–

First of all, it shows a diverse array of women, from a multitude of backgrounds. And since my background is shown, I’m immediately pulled into appreciative mode that hey, I’m being recognized as a national demographic—thus begins the journey down the loyalty lane (and I say this with absolute conviction, because I’ve watched a certain American Express commercial where a certain disputed territory was mentioned and surrounding oppositional territories were not mentioned—not even one—and I still remember the sting of it, and now associate that sting with Amex). Number 2, the commercial shows women not only from diverse backgrounds, but also from diverse age groups, so whoever is watching—if they’re age group is shown (and it probably is), you’re immediately pulled in, not because your age group has been considered relevant, but because it has been considered relevant in the context of beauty, i.e. beauty is dependent not on age but on a mindset (which we happen to lose as we age, no matter what our age). It’s a sweet demonstration of affection for womankind, and I’ll bet a lot of us are suckers for it. And also, even as Dove highlights the differences in age and race, the entire commercial resounds with the fundamental value which is luckily pervading our culture today: that we are, despite our numerous differences, the one and same. Each of these women, regardless of everything else, is camera shy: We are plagued by the same insecurities and uncertainties. And as children we were all sweet, confident and striving, (and amusing) young ladies, afraid of nothing. (btw the cuteness of the kids leaves a sweet scent in your subconscious—doesn’t it?)
Wow. Who wouldn’t love this commercial? And Dove’s not selling anything particular via this commercial. No product per se. But they’ve sold their brand quite beautifully. And I’m sold. I could have given them a tag line: Our resounding similarities, despite our differences. Our defining differences despite our similarities. Dove. Make peace with yourself. Make peace with the world. Good, eh? — Oh. Is that what the dove stands for?…mmm…entrapment by marketing? More like self-entrapped.

But anywho, Dove’s Self-Esteem Fund, established and promoted in the name of promoting healthy confidence and self-appreciation in women—is it truly for the sake of women? Or was the Dove marketing team wise enough to anticipate the once fad, now pervasive reality of women struggling and developing and finally establishing a form of self-respect that shuns and even deprecates the societal demands and expectations imposed on their physicality? Maybe Dove does care. But Dove also is good at what it does. Not just designing products that sell, but selling—not products—but an image—an image that associates the well-being of women with a brand. The brand which then sells products based on its image. Ah yes.

The brilliance of brand.