While AI is supposed to be innovative, ask an AI engine to make a gorgeous woman, and machine learning serves up stereotypes.
Dove wanted to stop perpetuating unattainable beauty standards so the marketing team asked AI to create a beautiful and confident woman, according to Dove’s Real Beauty ads. They got a diverse range of women of all ages, sizes and ethnicities.
During a fireside chat at Brand Innovators’ The Future of Marketing and Digital Innovation Summit in London, Firdaous El Honsali, VP, Dove Masterbrand Global & North America, Unilever, said that as brands engage new technologies they must still be true to their core purpose.
The Unilever brand is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its “Campaign for Real Beauty” this year and it continues to be the driving force behind the brand’s creative work, as relevant today as it was when it launched 20 years ago, El Honsali said.
Dove found that 85% of girls in the UK distort the way they look online by age 13 and have been engaging these teens in their parents to help with body confidence and self-esteem education in The Dove Self Esteem project.
The company is bringing these insights to the culture whenever relevant. Showing up with purpose at relevant culture moments has been powerful for the brand, said El Honsali.
When TikTok created the Bold Glamour filter – which makes users look completely Photoshopped and heavily made up– Dove encouraged consumers to #TurnYourBack and show up naturally. When 10 year olds started adding anti-aging products to their Christmas lists after hearing about them from influencers on TikTok, Dove got involved and encouraged these kids to just be 10 with a film that celebrates the magic of this age in childhood.
And these initiatives are not just good for people, they also help drive sales and push the bottom line. Unilever reported sales growth of 4.4% in Q1 2024 to $15 billion, 6.1% among “power brands” in the portfolio, which includes Dove. “Purpose drives growth,” said El Honsali, at the event, as she encouraged other marketers in the audience to embrace their purpose in marketing.
