Dove: Stereotype and Target Audience

I find the Dove “ campaign for real beauty” supremely effective and powerful. The campaign consists on taking real woman, as opposed to supermodels, to be the model in their commercials. In the campaign, we can see women that may be not to pretty or not to skinny to be models, but because Dove enforces real and common beauty, we perceive them as such. As happy and proud women of their bodies, even though they are not the perfect stereotype of beauty.

This campaign is incredibly successful and effective. First of all, it reaches their target audience very well. They are targeting the common American woman, with different ethnic backgrounds, and this is exactly the kind of women they put in the ad. The consumer identifies itself not only with the product, but can relate 100% with the models that are being presented. Furthermore, they did not spend a lot of money in the production of this campaign. They hired normal actresses, not supermodels, and shot the commercial in a studio, which reduces production and crew, costs. Dove invested all their money wisely in attacking the media, and not in the production of the commercial. They diversified their media strategy, using TV, printed ads, and billboards, Internet and reached a vast and diversified target audience.

This campaign also establishes a clear image for dove that imposes over the other beauty products companies. Dove has become, the brand that believes in real beauty, and consumers remember this and perceive it positively. In an ad world contaminated with stereotypical characters, supermodels and celebrities, it was powerful to see that normal woman could be beautiful too.

In fact the purpose of the campaign goes beyond the product or the models. Dove has infiltrated popular culture with its thoughts and debate about beauty. It has created a connection or link with its consumer, as if they are the only one that really understands beauty issues. Dove is serving as an advocate for femininity and beauty, and consumers feel gratified with the product, creating a bond that goes beyond the characteristics of the product. They have created brand loyalty.

In conclusion, I believe this campaign to be effective because it reaches their target audience precisely, they could cut their budget on production leaving a lot of money for media purposes, they established a clear identity for the brand and they created brand loyalty infiltrated popular culture and debate. More importantly, we can observe, how sometimes it not the most creative and wild the campaign the most successful. It is the one that delivers the message that the consumer wants and needs to hear. It is the one that can infiltrate in society with messages that go beyond simple products, touching cultural issues, and becoming part of the consumer’s perception of life.