Excuse me, while I wash my mouth out with Dove

In my previous post, I'd fawned over Dove's brand positioning and their latest 'Beauty Sketches' video on youtube.

Yesterday, I was randomly flipping through the Idiot Box trying to find a programme that was not logically-twisted propaganda or mind-numbingly superficial. I didn't find any, but I did happen to see a Dove ad - and I knew then and there, that I'd been HAD!

The Dove 'Beauty Sketch' is a brilliant example of how two-faced Advertising can become. The creative team (in North America) works on a brief where the brand, Dove, is described in terms of unicorns and rainbows. But in the real world - in local markets - the expediency to turn a fat profit makes their true colours quite obvious.

Dove wants you to believe that their brand is unlike the rest of the "beauty" industry which assaults the minds and self-image of little girls with a never-ending deluge of self-loathing.


Buuut, if you want silky smooth skin... You need Dove.


Aaand, if you want beautiful hair... You need Dove.


Sometimes I think Advertising is just a horrible, horrible way to make a living.

Being duplicitous is one thing - but being a Unilever brand means that Dove comes from the same Augean Stable that peddles chemical panaceas for everything you lack physically - including skin colour! Here's an ad that can make your skin crawl...
And many, many others like it.


I just wish I'd seen this guy's video before shooting my mouth off about Dove's despicable scam.