Barbara Lippert's Critique: Cleavage-Free Zone

The stakes are huge, and the cost is astronomical, so it's only natural that the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl would be super-tense for advertisers. But really, guys, let's get a grip—the level of secrecy and paranoia surrounding the release of the spots this year is getting, well, crazy.Two weeks ago, I got a (very) late-night call at home, from one very freaked-out PR-company dude, asking for the cell phone numbers for Adweek's Webmaster and, if possible, its editor in chief. It seems a spot was sent to the magazine by mistake, and he feared it had already been posted on our site—a fireable offense. I felt bad for the poor guy, even though he woke me up. I told him to get some sleep and it would work out in the morning. (It did—and he's still at his job, long after midnight, on behalf of his employer.)It used to be that a lot of advertisers were happy to take the millions of dollars in free pre-Supe publicity attendant with releasing the spots early (and that was even part of the strategy). No such luck this year. And I know that plans change, and that these days, enabled by the latest technology, a lot of sleepless creatives tend to tinker with the work up to about a minute before kickoff. (And between us, this "sneak peak-that-may-or-may-not-run'' is not exactly helpful.) So I can't say that I was entirely surprised—but still, mighty amused—when the only whole spot available for viewing in time for my deadline was offered by Dove, after prolonged negotiations, on the condition that a PR operative come to my apartment with a laptop. I'll admit it was a bit disappointing that we couldn't have worked out a situation similar to the Brits spying on Russia. I pointed out that there was a rock in Central Park that they could beam the digital information to, and I'd be happy to pass by and receive it.Short of that, I envisioned an agent arriving in a trench coat, possibly with a bodyguard or two, and that scary attaché-case-chained-to-the-wrist thing happening. ("Is it safe? Is it safe?'')As it turned out, a lone easy-going operativa came over, and we had tea. I was allowed to view the spot several times, and then she vanished.And from what I remember about Dove's 45-second spot, it's about as simple, open and human as can be. It features slow cuts of a mulitcultural array of typical girls, ages 6 to 16, looking beautiful in supersaturated light, staring straight at the camera. Subtitles tell us that one thinks she's fat, another thinks she's ugly and another wishes she were blonde. It would be completely heartbreaking, if not for the poignant but soaring and sweet voices of the Girl Scouts chorus of Nassau County, New York, in the background, singing Cindy Lauper's "True Colors.''It's not the most original spot, or at all surprising—the look and tone are very much in keeping with the much-publicized previous spots that showed "real women'' as part of its Campaign for Real Beauty—but it is powerful. It's also beautifully executed, and there's no other way to say it: It brought tears to my eyes.As a marketing move, it's pretty much critic-proof. If you recall, amidst all the reverent coverage of those "un-retouched'' women in their big white bras and panties who populated the giant Dove billboards, print ads and TV spots last year, the only fly in the ointment was the actual product they were promoting and the "benefit'' they were (vaguely) claiming: "New Dove Firming. As tested on real curves."There's no research, or science, to prove that any topical cream works on cellulite. Therefore, it was fair territory for critics to question how serious the company was about breaking beauty stereotypes while it sold a product that fit precisely into that same old beauty myth. But in terms of a revolutionary positioning for the overall brand, and as a (semi)liberating visual statement for women, it was genius. This particular spot avoids all claims. It shows real girls and uses (sad to say) their own words to promote the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which works with the Girl Scouts' "Uniquely Me" program and helps build self-confidence in girls throughout the country. How can you argue with that? (I know some crazy, special-interest religious group actually has a problem with the Girl Scouts, but most fair-minded people don't.) The ad directs viewers to Dove's campaignforrealbeauty.com Web site, where they can find the "True You" activity guide, which acknowledges that mothers have the greatest influence on a girl's self-esteem.Obviously, the only shocker here is the media placement. Not because it is the first ad aimed at females during the Super Bowl; there have been many, including two for the Oxygen Network. But most aimed at women try to be one of the boys. This one admirably does not, and it's the thought of placing such pure innocence and quiet goodness amidst the barrels of monkeys and fart jokes that worries me. People might not even look up.We'll see. In the meantime, it's not as if it's a feminine hygiene or female pharmaceutical ad that lists really gross side effects. If taking 45-seconds to think about the issue of girls and self-esteem harshes the mellow of any manly men watching the game, I'm sure they can count on plenty of cleavage (that up until that minute was tightly under wraps, of course) just around the corner.

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Barbara Lippert's Critique: Cleavage-Free Zone

Barbara Lippert

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Barbara Lippert