Blog #5:Campaign for Real Beauty

This was one of the commercials launched by Dove in their campaign for real beauty which began in 2004. These ads all featured real women, not models, to sell Dove's products. The whole goal of the campaign was to make real women feel beautiful by seeing people like themselves on tv instead of the thin, photoshopped images they are exposed to every day.

I think so much focussed is placed on body image because our culture has become so depedent on the media. We've all become addicted to the internet, tv and movies. We're also so focussed on what's popular and what isn't. We want everything to "look good". Everyone just wants to fit in and if the media says being stick thin is "good" then that is what the rest of society is going to believe because there really isn't anyone to tell them otherwise.

The media definitely tells us what is ideal and what isn't. We're exposed to almost all of the time and if the majority of what you're shown are these model-like girls then that is what you are going to think is normal, even though you rarely see a girl like that walking down the street. Because this is normal, we are led to believe that we should strive to look this way no matter how impossible that is in reality.

Women's bodies tend to become more like objects in our society. Even in the past women were put into big, fancy dresses with corsets to give them the ideal tiny waist. In other cultures women aren't even allowed to show off their body. I also remember reading an article on one culture where they actually find the female body more attractive as they age naturally. Of course, in a society like ours that seems so far fetched. Every day were are shown advertisements for products that will make us appear younger.

I think men are put under the same pressures, even though more attention is focussed on women and how they are portrayed in the media. They are supposed to be thin and muscular in order to be considered attractive. This is the ideal image and it is an image that some just cannot achieve no matter how badly they try.

Advertisers and other media outlets control the images that we see. One of the ways that advertisers sell their products is to get the buyer into thinking that "if I use this product, I'll look as good as they do". They are in complete control and even go as far as editting their already beautiful models into looking a certain way.

I think teenage girls and boys are at equal risk to feel this pressure. There are ideal female and male images in the media and there is no reason that both genders shouldn't feel pressured to look a certain way. Teens these days have so much access to so many images of what the rest of society deems "ideal" and they are faced with the pressure to fit in on a daily basis.

The reason I think that Dove chose to air their commercial during the Super Bowl is because those ads become seen by so many people. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched events on television and by playing their ad in front of so many people, it gives their message a chance to reach a larger audience than they would at any other time.

Some people may be critical of the Dove campaign because not all people are capable of dealing with change. The people who are in charge of advertising for other companies might worry about the competition from Dove. Also, the people who have spent time and money trying to achieve this ideal image might protest because they have put so much effort into trying to look the way that society has told them they should look.

I think it's wrong for advertisers to try to sell this idea of "ideal beauty" to people, especially teens and younger children. People deal with enough struggles in life, the least they should be able to do is be comfortable in their own skin without worrying whether or not they'll fit in with everyone else.