Dove Case Story

Challenge

Dove believed in battling a category dominated by images of airbrushed perfection and unrealistic perceptions of beauty. Taking up this challenge in China, Dove was not only fighting category traditions but also long-held cultural perceptions of beauty that didn’t always match up with the real life of young urban Chinese women. Competing with brands such as L’Oreal, P&G, Johnson & Johnson and a plethora of new entrants in the hair and personal care categories, Dove’s focus was on engaging audiences in a conversation on beauty and what beauty means to individual women.

Following on the success of 2011’s ‘You are your own beauty’ campaign, in 2012 Dove wanted to drive the connection between beauty and the care Dove’s products provide.

Insight

Dove realised that when women talked about beauty, the conversation centred on the things they wanted to change, the parts they were unhappy with – never what it is that made them beautiful. Dove believed a women’s beauty was as diverse as women themselves. Dove had to use this brand belief to change Chinese women’s conversations on beauty.

Solution

Dove set a challenge to deliver over one million product experiences and in return receive testimonials from women sharing their points of view of beauty along with their stories of how Dove’s care helped them feel more beautiful. Dove’s ‘Beauty has a million faces and you’re one of them’ campaign was created to generate trial, engage women and generate conversations on three aspects of beauty in China: that women were beautiful no matter what they looked like, where they were from or what life stage they were in.

The campaign was digitally driven and activated across different touch points (online, offline and retail partners). A video launched online on video portals and in partnership with sites such as Psychologies, Marie Clare and Trends Health.

The video raises the idea of care being the first step towards beauty, establishing a role for Dove and...