The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was launched in 2004 and since then has been drawing both praise and criticism. Created by Ogilvy & Mather and Edelman Public Relations, the Real Beauty campaign is intended to promote self-esteem among women and help free themselves “from beauty stereotypes”.
Although the Dove campaign may not be news, I was inspired to comment on it when my Thai wife came home yesterday with two of her favourite fashion magazines, both of which feature western looking models on the cover. The trend of using fair-skinned or European models certainly isn’t exclusive to Thailand — it’s typical throughout Asia.
Beauty stereotypes abound in Asia, especially regarding skin colour. Does that mean Asian women are racist? In my opinion, no more than women from any other part of the world. My wife, like most Asian women I’ve met in Asia, have a horror of dark skin and will go to any lengths to avoid exposure to the sun. But this isn’t based on western style racism. It comes from traditional notions that only field hands and manual labourers had dark skin.
Controversy
The campaign has attracted fierce criticism in some quarters, as Dove parent company Unilever also markets a skin lightening product called Fair and Lovely.
The Illusionists site , for example, says the campaign is an “egregious example of corporate hypocrisy”:
“Unilever is also the maker, in India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, of skin whitening creams for women and men. The commercials, running on borderline racist themes, always feature unhappy, socially rejected women and men with a dark skin color, who are magically transformed into popular people after using the “Fair and Lovely,” skin-whitening cream.”
Another criticism comes from Associate Professor Aneel Karnani of the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. In the University’s winter 2009 newsletter, he asks whether Unilever is indulging in Corporate Social Hypocrisy. The full text can be viewed in a jpg file.
Is it really corporate hypocrisy?
I believe the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a brilliant example of CSR and was launched with the best of intentions. But Unilever and other corporates need to ensure their marketing is in alignment and that their CSR initiatives at head offices are matched with local and regional branches worldwide. In many cases, this probably means the head office pr team should be maintaining closer communication with their regional and local counterparts.
A bigger question is how much responsibility do corporates have for changing social attitudes? I think they have a role to play, and much of what has been achieved in the field of CSR has been admirable and sincere. Stephen Green, who in addition to being CEO of HSBC is also an Anglican priest, is a prime example.
Only so much can be done in the corporate sector and trying to combat centuries of tradition isn’t going to yield results overnight. But the trying is certainly worthwhile.
