Dove ditches ‘Real Beauty’ in favour of ‘Body Language’

Dove is ditching its long-running ’real beauty’ campaign, which pioneered the use of real women in advertsing, and will replaceit with activity under the “Body Language” strapline.

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Code named ’Darwin’, the Unilever-owned brand will launch the new strategy in the next few weeks.

Dove launched its global Real Beauty campaign in 2004 with the aim to highlight body images issues, but is now tasking Ogilvy London with replacing it with a new ’Body Language’ marketing campaign that will instead talk about how Dove products make you feel confident and attractive.

Sources say that the new campaign will aim to exude fun and be less ’preachy’ than the Real Beauty message.

Social media, with an emphasis on Facebook, will be the main focus of the campaign. However, television and press will support the massive social media push.

In response, Unilever global communications marketing manager Stacie Bright has issued a statement saying:

“The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty started a global conversation about the need for a wider definition of beauty more than six years ago. The Campaign for Real Beauty slogan has not been used consistently across the brand as the tagline depends on whether we are launching a new product or having a master brand campaign.”

“Our bold vision for the brand remains exactly the same. We aim to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. We are excited to give all women the opportunity to join us as we work to make our vision a reality. As discussed, we remain committed to real beauty, which will continue to be evident in all of the work we are doing.”

This story first appeared on Pitch, Centaur’s subscription-based online interactive marketplace for agencies and clients to share news, opinion and debate.