Comments on: Should your daughter sign the Dove Movement?

By: Claire Kerr

Claire Kerr — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:23:57 +0000

Amazing story! I think what is most upsetting is that big marketing agencies are assuming Canadian women never travel or pay attention to things that happen in other countries. Does Unilever believe they can market to us in one way in Canada, and another way in Bali, and we will praise them for it?

By: edenland

edenland — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:23:24 +0000

Wow. I just discovered you from a tweet, came here, and read this. That Ponds ad? Ugh. I was in Bali recently, and went into a supermarket while the driver and my husband waited in the car. I needed some deoderant, rounded the corner of the beauty aisle … and came across rows and rows and ROWS of skin-whitening products.

It made me feel sick. I got back in the car and ranted and raved at the unfairness … that darker-skinned women would feel inferior, that products liked this even EXIST.

There was silence in the car. After a while, the driver simply said, “Yes …. women want to have lighter skin here. Same as women want to have darker skin (tans) in other parts of the world. Is crazy, yes?”

Yes. Is very, very crazy.

By: Claire

Claire — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:56:14 +0000

I don’t mind at all – and I’m sorry to hear that your daughter feels insecure so young. I definitely have my “Don’t look in the mirror!” days myself so I don’t appreciate a corporation’s deliberate marketing strategy to make $$$ off me by telling me what I want to hear…As long I as I live in North America.

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:08:42 +0000

I have a daughter who is already super conscious of the tiny chickenpox scar on her forehead. She’s six!

Linking to this post from my blog if you don’t mind, I think this is important for more people to read.

By: Nine

Nine — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:00:18 +0000

Tweeted about this because the hypocrisy makes me want to cry. Especially after seeing that Ponds commercial! Thank you for this straightforward expose!

By: Amber

Amber — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:24:02 +0000

This is a great expose of a flawed campaign. Self esteem is great. But the beauty industry is not the place I’d go looking for it. And they’re not the people I’d want to teach my daughter.

By: Claire

Claire — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:09:02 +0000

And thanks for this timely news item: Dove ad seeks women with flawless skin, not too curvy

By: Liza-the-second

Liza-the-second — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:42:36 +0000

What’s frustrating about the ads is that *even separate from everything else Unilever is doing* they’re profoundly hypocritical.

The campaign for real beauty exists to sell us… Dove beauty products. Which are designed to smooth skin, hide signs of aging, and… make people conform to the beauty standard.

Yawn.

Also, you know who benefits from the idea that there are “real” women and “not real” women? Hint: not women. Real or otherwise.

This is like Phillip Morris running a stop-smoking campaign. Sure, on the surface it looks nice, but I think I might not be buying it.

By: paula schuck

paula schuck — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:33:13 +0000

Aw man I had no idea that Dove and Axe were both Unilever. That is just wrong! Hate hate hate Axe ads. And skin lighteners for Asians. I think I just threw up a bit.

Paula

By: Claire

Claire — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:16:16 +0000

I have signed up to see what they do with all these “pledge signers”, but haven’t received any communication from the campaign. Not even an automatic “thanks for signing up!”