Reaffirming its commitment to the portrayal of 'real beauty', Dove has announced the launch of the Dove 'No Digital Distortion Mark', which is being rolled out across all branded content globally. By January 2, 2019, the mark will be incorporated into all static imagery showcasing women, across print, outdoor, in-store, digital and social and will represent that the image is not distorted.
The ambition of the Mark is to help women and girls navigate the media landscape letting them know that the image they see has not been digitally distorted to fit the ideals of what beauty is and isn't. It will help women identify reality and relieve some of the pressure to look a certain way.
Research from the Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report (2017) shows that women in India have lost faith in what they are viewing. 65 per cent believe that all images in the media have been digitally altered or airbrushed[1]. Brands need to take note of this, since 71 per cent of women cite increasing pressures from advertising and media to reach an unrealistic standard of beauty as a key force in driving appearance anxiety. [1]
"When content in the media is not reflective of reality, it has a profound negative effect on the viewer," says Jess Weiner, Cultural Expert and Adjunct Professor at University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School of Journalism. "By viewing unrealistic and unachievable beauty images it creates an unattainable goal which leads to feelings of failure. This is especially true of young girls who have grown up in a world of filters and airbrushing."
The Dove 'No Digital Distortion Mark' joins the Self-Esteem Project tools and is a stamp to let everyone know that Dove is firmly committed to its belief of not digitally distorting images and that the women included are 100% as you would see them in real life and 100% beautiful.
Established in 2004, the Dove Self-Esteem Project is committed to reaching 40 million young people around the world with body confidence and self-esteem education by 2020. One element of this is education on how to counter the negative influence of media and become more aware and critical of what they see. The Mark will take this further and provide an identifier that will take the guesswork out of consuming media, while also encouraging other brands to take action.
"Through the work of the Dove Self-Esteem project, we teach children to question what they see in the media and not to take everything at face value," said Dr. Phillippa Diedrechs, Body Image Expert.
"However, the responsibility shouldn't solely be on the viewer. Brands can do more to showcase reality and take this unnecessary pressure away. By doing so, we can have a positive impact on the lives of young girls."
"This Mark on Dove advertising and assets is a continuation of the Real Beauty Pledge by Dove to only portray what is real, true and accurate for women and beauty, to never digitally alter her appearance, and to help the next generation develop a positive relationship with beauty" said Sandeep Kohli, Executive Director and VP Beauty and Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever.
"It is a public re-commitment by Dove to never present the unachievable, manipulated, flawless images of "perfect" beauty, which the use of retouching tools can promote."
This month's cover of Grazia - India's top women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, carries the mark as Indian actor Radhika Apte has posed sans any Digital Distortion.
About the Dove self-esteem project:
Dove has a long-standing commitment to creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence and not anxiety. The Dove Self-Esteem Project (2004), helps the women of tomorrow develop a positive relationship with the way they look, raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential.
So far, we've reached nearly 30 million young people across 138 countries, making the Dove Self-Esteem Project one of the largest providers of body confidence education in the world.
To learn more about the Dove Self-Esteem Project visit dove.com/selfesteem.
[1] Research and statistics have been taken from the Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report (2017)