Dove's Beauty Bottles: Insulting or Inspiring?

Ross Neil, WCRS ECD

They say form follows function but I’m not quite sure of the function here? I wonder how many people drink from the iconic Marilyn Monroe Coke bottle and ponder its curves, or even know its Marilyn.

How many consumers will relate these bottles to body types? You use it for a purpose and this feels like the marketing has spilt over into the real world in quite a clumsy way here. I think the Dove bottom drawer of ideas is finally empty.

Dave Henderson, ATOMIC creative partner

I thought this was quite cool when I first saw it, a nice twist in an established campaign. But then I would think it was cool because ultimately I’m the target audience, a creative ad professional who knows all about this campaign, who also might just be a juror on one of the many award shows over the next year. 

The claimed target audience, ‘real women’, seem to have had a very different reaction though, judging by the social media backlash it seems to have had over the last few days. Unfortunately for the agency and client, everyone has now read about this, so jurors won’t touch it with a shitty stick now, which on balance is the right thing to do.

Anna Carpen, 18 Feet & Rising ECD

This is the least inspiring thing I have ever seen from Dove.

The only product I want in the shape of a body is a bottle of matey bubble bath.

Just because I am a short, wide female doesn’t mean I can relate to a short, wide bottle of body wash.

Sara Bamossy, CSO Pitch

This execution of the (usually on-point) Real Beauty campaign almost seems like a parody, or if someone was trolling Dove.

As marketers and advertisers, it’s important to remember that we can get caught up in our own bubble of ideas and no one is waiting for our brands to provide social commentary.

Losing sight of our customer and what they are looking for leads to marketing for marketing’s sake and is the biggest trap any of us can fall into. 

No woman is looking for body wash packaging to be a literal reflection of body shape. This offers no utility, no meaningful connection, no new conversation. In this case, the perfect shape for my body wash packaging is the one that fits best in my hand.

Jason Romeyko, Worldwide ECD, Serviceplan International 

Like any creative director, when I have a strong platform idea, I impatiently push for the client to do it in a big blast across all touchpoints at once.

So I admire the patience of both agency and client behind Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign who, over the years, pull out new ideas in different media (albeit sometimes awkwardly close to the start of award season) supporting this important stance on beauty.

It is a brave thing for a brand to transform its packaging into the communication idea itself. From CEO to factory floor, it shows real commitment to the purpose. I find it disruptive and a piece of design which lives much longer than any content or ad will do- particularly for the consumers who buy it. It allows women to buy a physical piece of the brand promise and proudly carry the cause of “many shapes and sizes” at home and openly at the check-out.

Obviously there are many different body types, so six bottle designs cannot represent all different body types of women. Therefore it was clear that there would be some criticism of the campaign. However I admire the bravery of the concept.

Strictly speaking it is more shopper marketing than aesthetic design. However, that should not take away from this being great work. I wish I had done it.