When you think of Dove as a brand, you associate it with diversity, body positivity and self-esteem, right?

Well, their latest campaign could change that…

For nearly 15 years now, Dove has been challenging our concept of beauty. What it is, what it means, and why we think about it the way we do. And up until now, their campaigns have received a positive response.

Their newest campaign “Real Beauty Bottles,” however, has fallen flat.

The campaign is meant to “illustrate the power of body diversity.” Dove has released 6 limited-edition “Real Beauty Bottles” that brings the diversity of women’s body types to life in the form of plastic bottles – some curvy, some round, some slender and some straight up and down. In a statement Dove said, “Each bottle evokes the shapes, sizes, curves and edges that combine to make every woman their very own limited edition.”

However, the reactions to the campaign are far from the positive support the brand has become accustomed to, with people either hating it, or laughing hysterically at it! The conversation around the campaign has been less about body positivity and rather around mocking Dove’s ideas about body types.

Dove unveiled the new bottle shapes to imitate the variety of shapes and sizes of women, aiming to celebrate body positivity. In the ad it states that “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. There is no perfect shape. They’re one of a kind, just like you.” But many on Twitter weren’t buying the ad pitch…

The campaign has been trending like wildfire on Twitter. The public are very confused as to why Dove A) would want their bottles to resemble human bodies, B) expects customers to want to buy body wash that resembles human bodies, and C) thinks the bottles resemble women’s body types at all!

Here at CuCo, we’re just as confused as those on Twitter! What exactly are customers supposed to do with bottles that resemble different body types? Purchase the shape that they aspire to be? The one that matches them? Dove prides itself on celebrating body diversity, but their latest campaign limits the diversity of women’s body types to just 6 different shapes and sizes…? It is unclear how long the bottles will be for sale, or if each shape has the same amount of body wash!

If Dove are so committed to celebrating women, perhaps they should be more diverse within the workplace and employ more of them? Women should be celebrated for their accomplishments, not just their appearance!

What do you think? Do you think this could be harmful to Dove as a brand? Does the flatness of this ad campaign just remind us that fundamentally, Dove wants to be in the conversation about body positivity just to sell more products? Share your thoughts and comment below!

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