Personal care brand Dove has encouraged women to let go of the ‘pursuit of perfect’ in its latest campaign for the Dove Self-Esteem Project for Women.
The Dove Self-Esteem Project is Dove’s first body confidence programme for women and offers support for women suffering from body-image issues.
Devised by Ogilvy, ‘#NewYearsUnresolution’ encourages participants to write down an unrealistic beauty standard that they have been pressured to conform to. The women are then invited to rip up the note to symbolise that they are letting go of the pressure to conform.
Emily Galazka, UK Dove Masterbrand marketing manager, said: “For 20 years, Dove has equipped young people with resources to improve their self-esteem and body confidence, and now we’re expanding our focus to women, many who have grown up under the weight of unrealistic beauty standards reinforced by social media.
“ As we enter a new year, we wholeheartedly encourage women to make resolutions that focus on their own happiness and joy, rather than these negative standards. Through Dove’s first-ever body confidence series for women, our aim is to support women in rejecting unattainable ideals, embrace authenticity, and redefine beauty on their own terms.
She added: “To launch this, we’re showcasing our powerful 90-second film via YouTube. At the same time, we are working with engaging influencers to redefine their own New Year resolutions on social. We are bringing this content into the physical world through high-profile OOH screens in the UK this new year to spread the message of body confidence far and wide at the start of 2025.”
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As part of the campaign, Dove has asked women from all walks of life to embrace their bodies and share their pledge to do so on TikTok communities.
The personal care brand has teamed up with 12 UK-based influencers for its digital campaign. It also showed a selection of influencer content at the Outernet London building in Tottenham Court over New Year.
Influencer activity was supported by a YouTube video following the day-to-day life of a woman over the course of a year. This time was chosen to reflect research by the brand that revealed one woman in three would give up a year of their life for the “perfect body”.
Its report, ‘The Real State of Beauty’, found that millennial women have the lowest body confidence compared to previous generations, over-indexing on health conditions relating to body image.
According to the report, body image issues can be heightened around New Year, with one in two women’s New Year resolutions highlighting some kind of goal relating to diets or weight loss.
Ogilvy (SYD) executive creative director Bridget Jung said: “New Year is when we reflect and set intentions for the year ahead, but for many women, this means putting unrealistic pressure on themselves. We saw an opportunity to leverage this moment in time to change the narrative and empower women to start 2025 right.
“It’s been a privilege to work on this campaign and support Dove on their important mission. We believe every woman deserves to go into 2025 feeling good about themselves, and positive about the year ahead.”
