Dove – part of the problem « Half Pint Pixie

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Dove – part of the problem

5 October, 2007 by halfpintpixie

So the advertising world has been bowled over by Dove’s latest commercial, Onslaught, which shows all the pressures that the beauty industry places on young girls. (Here’s a link to it on YouTube, I’m not giving Dove free advertising by playing it here). It finishes with the punchy

Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.

Never trust a corporation that tries to pretend it’s part of the solution!

Activist Mommy did some digging around this earlier year and found some interesting information. Dove is owned by Unilever who own Fair & Lovely.

Fair & Lovely (see this ad on YouTube) is a range of skin lighteners sold in India by Unilever. The ads portray women who can’t get ahead in life but once they solve the problem of their dark skin by using Fair & Lovely, the world is theirs & men actually like them!

So Western Women are supposed to embrace their real beauty while those in India are being encouraged to bleach their skin. Sounds like Unilever is trying to play both sides here, but what more would you expect?

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Posted in Advertising, Children, General Musings, Parenting | Tagged beauty, dove, unilever | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on 5 October, 2007 at 20:53 | Reply Socialite Dreams

you totally pwned them!

http://socialitedreams.wordpress.com
on 6 October, 2007 at 19:51 | Reply Melanie

Thank you for writing this. Its yet another sickening example of big business hypocrisy, double standards and exploitation. Anyone interested can see info on companies owned by Unilever on http://www.ethiscore.org/company.aspx?id=18207. (They have missed Fair & Lovely off their list, so well spotted). I certainly won’t be buying any of their products.
on 6 October, 2007 at 20:35 | Reply halfpintpixie

thanks melanie, Activist Mommy owns the credit for the research! She did all the work
on 7 October, 2007 at 10:28 | Reply amberjee

I always think it’s crazy us pale people are encouraged to tan and bronze ourselves and gorgeous darker complexions are encouraged to whiten their skin. It’s all a bit mad, but then how else does the beauty industry make money except by making people want to change the way they are.
on 27 November, 2007 at 17:24 | Reply halfpintpixie

I notice Activist Mommy has disappeared. I’ll leave the above link alive and hopefully she’ll return soon!
on 17 April, 2008 at 14:09 | Reply halfpintpixie

Regarding the Dove campaign, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood points out “There’s just one problem: Unilever is the beauty industry. A manufacturer of diet aids, cosmetics, skin whiteners, and other beauty products, Unilever is responsible for much of the advertising it claims it wants to help girls resist. ”

Have a look at CCFC’s campaign targeting Unilever’s Axe campaign
on 28 April, 2008 at 19:25 | Reply Dove - not just a pretty bird « Half Pint Pixie

[...] who also own “Fair & Lovely” skin lightening cream sold in India? Have a look at this old post to see more on Fair & [...]
on 29 April, 2008 at 06:17 | Reply Mari

Thank YOU for reading me I have linked to you on my blog and used your opinions in a research paper I did on the topic this semester. Thanks for your insight on this issue- and spread the word about Greenpeace’s new video, maybe it will get people talking again about Unilever’s discrepancies!