ABSTRACT
In late 2003, the brand management team of the global cosmetic brand Dove responded to a managerial request to achieve higher sales targets by setting in motion a campaign against beauty and body norms in the media industry. Dove’s reaction to the increased pressure to sell more was an interesting move, as it suggests that economic value can be achieved by associating Dove with a social issue. Rather than lowering the price, making specific promotional offers, improving the quality of their products, or altering the packaging to sell less for the same price, the brand’s management team decided to create attachments with a societal cause. From 2003, this approach was realised through various campaigns, cooperations and increasingly participatory and co-creative approaches (Cova et al., 2011; Foster, 2011). First by commissioning an academic report on female bodily experience and the role of media, then through a series of advertising campaigns (most notably the ‘Real Women Campaign’), events, and competitions. In cooperation with charities, such as Beat UK, Dove developed body consciousness workshops for schools, youth centres and parents, allowing the brand to become the subject of intimate conversations on bodily experience and beauty pressures.
