Dove’s latest campaign declared “manipulative”

Dove’s latest campaign has sparked controversy amongst the ad industry with some declaring it “manipulative” and “mindless”.

The “patches” campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather in Basil, according to Adage, sees women in a mock clinical trial donning the patches to make themselves feel more beautiful.

The campaign has raised a few eyebrows in the industry, with New York Magazine titling its article “This Dove ad is garbage”.

“Shame upon you, Dove, for making these women seem dumb, and for not scripting at least one of them to act outraged that she had been duped,” Maggie Lange, the author of the article at New York magazine, wrote.

Following the women for two weeks via video diaries, the women document how their self-esteem is growing and how they are feeling more beautiful.

At the end of the trial psychologist Dr Ann Kearney-Cooke, reveals that there was in fact nothing within the patch and it was all placebo.

The women react with pleasure, smiles and a few happy tears as they realise they were increasing their self-esteem themselves.

Check out the campaign clip below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGDMXvdwN5c

The Daily Life has also taken a whack at Dove’s latest campaign, saying that “the mindlessness of their latest ad campaign will come as no surprise”.

With the tagline “beauty is a state of mind” rolling on at the end of the advert (see below), Clementine Ford from Daily Life questions the statement from a beauty and hygiene company.

“If Dove really believes that beauty is a state of mind, their main objective continues to be to sell beauty and hygiene products that are largely inessential,” Ford writes.

“Should we feel free to stop purchasing Dove’s deodorant because, in a series of highly manipulative and condescending ad campaigns, they’ve pretended they think we’re fine just the way we are?”

Lauren Stampler from Time Magazine also poses similar feelings about the campaign, labelling it “manipulative” and “insulting to watch”.

Andrea Martens, vice president marketing and managing director of home and personal care at Unilever Australia and New Zealand said in the release the experiment aimed to reinforce Dove’s commitment to fostering self-esteem in women.

“By illustrating that a positive state of mind and openness can help them feel more beautiful, we hope to inspire all women and help change the way they see themselves,” she said.

The YouTube clip has already been viewed over 11 million times since its launch last Thursday.

B&T is currently awaiting comment from Dove.

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