Is Dove’s latest campaign a masterful peek into female psychology, or yet another narrow attempt to sell products in the name of female empowerment? Seems the jury is still out. But many are not afraid to voice their opinions on what is arguably the most talked about video to have come out in recent memory. The new campaign centers around a nearly four-minute video showing women in five global cities being offered the option to enter a building through either of two doors: one labeled “Beautiful,” the other “Average.” Most women walk through the “average” door. But soon, amid swelling keyboards, their gaits grow more confident and their faces glow as a procession of them—the beaming woman with her daughter, the young woman in a wheelchair—warm to the inspiring possibilities for those who #ChooseBeautiful. “It’s quite a triumphant feeling,” one woman says. “It’s like telling the world, ‘I think I’m beautiful.’” “Choose Beautiful” is the latest iteration of Dove’s polarizing yet phenomenally successful “Campaign for Real Beauty.” Personally, I am in the camp that says it’s not shallow and demeaning at all, and I’d even show this to my own daughter. But then again, I’m a bit biased by virtue of the fact that I’m in the ad business, and I’m paid to make sure messages resonate and cash registers ring. Furthermore, I worked on the Dove account a few years ago, so I have a more intimate understanding of what works and what doesn’t. In 10 years, this campaign helped boost Dove sales from $2.5 billion to $4 billion. Ad Age even named it the best advertising campaign of the 21st century.
So, what say you? Take a peek below. Hit or miss?
