Dove Wants Women to Define Beauty for Themselves in New Campaign

Traditional beauty standards for women are arguably narrow but they aren't worth paying attention to, says Dove's latest campaign. 

With its new #MyBeautyMySay spot the Unilever brand kicks off a new push, from Edelman, Havas, Ogilvy and PHD, for women to define their own standards of beauty. In its 60-second film Dove features nine real women including a burlesque dancer, a boxer and a beauty blogger, to show that any woman can feel pressure to look a certain way but that they can overcome those feelings. 

"Dove knows that women are constantly scrutinized about how they look," said Jennifer Bremner, director of marketing for the brand. "They are under pressure to 'look the part' and this stops them from achieving their full potential. Many women recognize self-respect remains a battle to be won."

The campaign is based on new research from Dove's largest global study, The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report, which found that "7 in 10 women believe they get more compliments about how they look than on their professional achievements."

Bremner added: "Now, more than ever before, women are breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes—and it is time for society to start acknowledging this. With #MyBeautyMySay we hope to inspire women everywhere to take a stand against judgments that belittle their accomplishments." 

The effort is part of Dove's commitment to improving women and girls' self-esteem.

"Reaching 19.4 million girls to date with self-esteem education, Dove has always been at the forefront of helping women and girls develop a positive relationship with beauty," said Bremner. "We are proud to be a pioneer in redefining how women and beauty are portrayed in the media and in advertising. Dove is committed to widening today's stereotypical view of beauty through all of our campaigns."