Why I STILL like Dove’s new ad Real Beauty Sketches, and why I’m ALLOWED to post it.
First of all, this is a TV commercial. It is designed to sell stuff to the masses of people that eat it up. If you know my stance on those issues already I apologize for sounding like a broken record for just a moment. Turn off the TV and go do something fun with your time, TV will only make you feel ugly, which then makes you want to buy stuff to make yourself feel better. But I still really like this ad. I’m addressing the negativity surrounding it.
I’ve listed the arguments and then my replies.
1. It’s not diverse enough, I don’t look like any other the women in this ad- Neither do I look like any of them, I look like me and only me. I can still identify with the CONCEPT, without needing to look like one of the women in the ad. Infact I agree that the “Real Beauty” campaign sucks in that it’s diversity is severely lacking. I, myself and many of my friends, family and clients fall outside of the Dove’s standard of “beauty”. I’ve seen the supposed casting call and it bites. I clearly wouldn’t make the cut. However, this doesn’t need to take away from the message this ad is communicating. This ad isn’t about what you look like. It’s about what you think you look like and how wrong it can be. It’s isn’t focusing on beautiful people and how gorgeous they are, it’s about how women feel about themselves. And why shouldn’t we feel beautiful if we’re average and ordinary? What’s wrong with that? In my opinion, nothing. This ad is not a public service announcement. It’s a tv commercial made for a target market group, which happens to be mostly caucasian females between 35 and 45, but there is still a little race diversity in the commercial. They didn’t produce this ad to make every single woman on earth to feel good about themselves, they made it to make money. They are promoting it like they’re shifting attitudes, I’m calling bullshit on it but still enjoying the message. I can still enjoy it without picking it apart and seeing all the negatives. Some people choose to see something positive and some people choose to see something negative. And yes, it’s that simple. Just because I’m positive doesn’t mean I have my head stuck in the sand. But if you look hard enough or think hard enough you’re going to find something wrong with everything. What kind of life is that? Critical thinking is important, and I’m good at it. Critical thinking is what has got me to the place in my life where I don’t buy into the bullshit that media tries to spread as fact. But at some point you have to claim a small victory.
2. It’s still about beauty and when does it all end? No it’s not about conventional beauty, it’s about being ordinary and that’s beautiful.This ad is about embracing who were are, as we are, even though we don’t look like magazine cover models. It’s about being completely ordinary and that in itself is perfect. Where and when does it all end? When you decide to stop watching tv and buying beauty products- that’s when it ends. It’s not gonna end with a multimillion (or is it billion?) dollar company who profits from selling us beauty products, so stop expecting it too and quit passing the buck. Take some responsibility for your media consumption.
3. Dove has only shifted the attention from sexual attraction to peer approval. I say again- not what I gathered from the ad- it’s about how you view YOURSELF. Not about how your buddies view you- it’s about how you view you. And really is there anything else that matters??? No. It’s not anyone else’s job to think I’m beautiful, it’s mine and mine alone.
4. Dove is a hypocrite. They photoshop, you know? They’re a terrible company- Of course they photoshop, look at the ads- you can tell they photoshop, please don’t insult my intelligence. (And I don’t think reality shows are real either!) I am not so naive to think they don’t photoshop, that is nothing new. Did they ever say in this ad they don’t photoshop? No. I’ve never heard Dove say they don’t photoshop. Infact they outwardly admit they do photoshop. So why should I not like an ad, because the company that made it photoshops. Just because someone photoshops doesn’t make them evil. They can still promote natural beauty while photoshopping. It’s a step in the right direction and away from the Maybelines and Cover Girls. Yes I do know they sell Axe and yes I know how stupid Axe ads are. But this ad isn’t an Axe ad so why would I judge it based on a axe ad? That’s ridiculous. I posted the ad because I like the ad. Did I say I like Dove at all? No. Did I imply it by posting the ad? No. Did I tell all my friends to go out and buy dove products because they’re the best company in the world? No. I don’t buy dove stuff and I don’t make buying decisions based on ad campaigns. Forgive me for being so practical but I usually base my decisions on price, availability, smell, where it’s made and what’s in it. And recently I made homemade deordrant...So tell me again how I’m supporting the Dove company? That isn’t going to suddenly change because of this ad and if it persuades someone else to buy dove stuff, that’s kinda sad. We vote and show support with our dollars. Calling Dove a hypocrite is like calling a guy who drives a gas guzzling truck all over town, who started recycling some of his waste, a hypocrite. It’s like calling someone who chooses to be a vegetarian because of environmental impact and then buys a new pair of yoga pants and hoodie every weekend, a hypocrite. Small steps are important. Creating a balance you can live with is important. Calling someone a hypocrite is an extremely judgemental thing to do. But yet, I’ve been called judgemental because I stated some people choose to see negative in this ad and some people choose to see positive.
There are organizations crying for more average looking women in the media. Dove takes one little tiny step towards it and gets attacked from the very same groups asking for it. I consider myself a feminist, and that’s why I know of all the attacks because I read them long before someone so kindly posted one of them on my personal facebook page. I thanked him for posting it because the discussion around these issues is important. It seems everything done in the media is wrong by the standards of these groups. If you’re so against everything and nothing can please you, why don’t you start a campaign for everyone to turn off their tv’s and shut down their facebook accounts. Oh right, you wouldn’t make any money either.
Then there are the people who sit in the corner, who stand for nothing, do nothing and just criticize and point fingers at everyone else because it makes them feel better. To that, I will quote the Dalai Lama "Happiness arises as a result of different causes and conditions. If you harm someone out of anger, you may feel some superficial satisfaction, but deep down you know it was wrong. Your confidence will be undermined. However, if you have an altruistic attitude, you’ll feel comfortable and confident in the presence of others."
My last and most important point is this; If this ad made just one woman think twice about how critical she is of herself and how it’s time to lighten up and stop chasing perfection then I’m
extremely happy it was made, even if it earns the evil Dove company a few extra bucks.
