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Adding video to channels (Commercial) - requested by thesnipe.

I hope this ad campaign by Dove is paying off for them, since all it does is convince me not to buy their own products.

Then again, it convinces me not to buy their competitors' products either.

Is this the start of "reverse advertising?"

Uh, this ad has convinced you to not purchase soap, GreenBean?

self-esteem fund? what kind of crap is this, lol?

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Track is 'La Breeze' by Simian.

It's also a blatant ripoff of a rolling stones track. 19th Nervous breakdown.

Hmm... Sexist.

Do sons not also have self esteem?

I guess I'd argue that pointing out the oppression of one group doesn't condone the oppression of another. It could be seen as a way to help all groups.

But, hell yes, sons have self esteem issues--there outta be a video!

And hey, thanks for the Thumb. I haven't played with that feature. That's a nice one for this vid.

lucky760: Men are not fat, only fat women are fat - if family guy has taught me anything. :-)

Seriously though, the targets for the "beauty industry" is usually girls, I would suppose.

We men are not bombarded with images of fit male bodies shining at us from the end of the checkout lane. We don't usually end up with eating disorders. We are seldom the ones who are preyed upon. It's unfair truth--not sexism.

@CrushBug

It's convinced me to not buy DOVE soap... plenty of the generic no-name soap to go around.

Sexist, lucky? Does everyone have to cater to everyone? Pussy.

Man, I'm glad I only have boys. So far.

But there is a problem for men, and it's tied to the problem presented in this video. We are smashed with the same images, and in the end come to the skewed conclusion of what is beauty. We take that idea of beauty and reason that "I must have a female of equivalent beauty, or I am lacking." First of all, that puts even more pressure on the girls, and then we realize that there aren't enough of these hard-bodied women to go around, so we get depressed. We feel that the woman we did end up with should work harder to become like those other women, and when that doesn't work, best case scenario we find ourselves staring at other women with far too unhealthy frequency (worst case scenario, things end ugly). Instead, we should be appreciating and uplifting the qualities they have.

Forgive me if this comes across as inane rambling, it's too early.

Anyone have a problem with Dove (Unilever?) spending millions on hypocritical ad campaign.. Wherein they expose the viewer to the same subliminal visual raping they plan to expose your children to.

It's ok because at the end they have two lines of text? This ad actually is like a concentrated boiled down heroine injection of beauty messages, done in a "cool" style.

I don't care that they set up a foundation. So did WalMart to whitewash their crap. It's called greenwashing or something? Evil corporate asshats spreading their filth and pretending to be good global citizens because they set up a foundation like Exxon or BP ads that sey they are "investing" in alternative energies. (More like buying up companies and gutting them)

I don't think its hypocritical - one can have hygeine products and not be pushing an image of impossible-to-reach "beautY"

Ever since I can remember, Dove products pushed the notion that they were clean and simple. The worst I remember them ever claiming is you can "look younger too" and that was in the 70s. They've been doing the "clean and nice" rather than "perfect and ageless" for a long time and I appreicate it. Dove products don't pretend to give anything impossible.

and the ad IS different than the usul bombardment: its ugly and scary. Telling me the time lapse photog of the girl on the scale is "cool"? the barrage of surgical stuff they showed is "cool"? Nah... VERY different. If you think that's the same as what women endure now, you haven't been payinh attention.

and frankly, I don't care WHY Dove is spending the money; their campaign is actually a good one.

Simian. Album has some other good gems.

I personally find the advertisement to show a good example for young women considering we are bombarded with issues of beauty and what the expectation are so in this instance i find it to be quite powerful.
But i do think before they judge other companies they need to fix their largest problem (child labor in India )
check out this link http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/agbiotech/2003/monsantounilever.html

This is UNILEVER. when they talk about "the beauty industry" they are talking about themselves.

http://www.unilever.com/ourbrands/beautyandstyle/

and i fucking quote:
"Oscar-winning hair can be yours!
Want hair like Paris Hilton, Nicole Kidman or Posh Spice? It's easier than you think with the right products and a bit of practice."

Get a clue. They sell mayonnaise AND diet milkshakes.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'advertising, beauty business, quest, sorrow' to 'advertising, beauty business, hypocrisy, marketing, children, anorexia' - edited by MINK

WTF smibbo, are you a paid "online marketing specialist"?? Are you furthering the green washing with your take on it being a "good" ad.

The ad bombards you with all the negative images, and it isn't a positive, alternative, like "this is what real people look like". It is a Rovian, F-You morans, here's what WE GOT IN STORE FOR YOUR KIDS.

This is paid for by Unilever. I know green washing is the wrong term, but it's equivalent concept for the "beauty industry". Evil f-ing corps polluting people's brains and culture with their sell-more crap marketing and psychology and then putting the orwellian opposite-ads, as if one right counters the last 100,000 wrongs.

Voted against AND bookmarked. That's what I'm lookin' for. Nice tags; thanks.

joedirt, not the message I got. You may be right about Unilever. I want to give it more than 15 seconds of thought before reaching a snap conclusion. But my first thought was finally, a pushback. The advertising industry is not a monolith and I imagine whomever created this advert was disgusted by what we all see around us.

Yes, they're marketing to us and I don't like being marketed to but if I have to be marketed to I prefer this to the usual horseshit.

no, joedirt, I am not a paid marketing anything. Boy would my friend laugh their asses off at that! I don't allow television in my house - my kids only see TV when tehy go to their grandparents. Because of that I might be a bit "under a rock" when it comes to advertising. I'm a former punk rock rebel whose parents were political activists. Calm the fuck down Joe. I like the ad because it's everything I feel about "beauty" ads that I -not my kids - was forced to look at growing up. I like that SOMEONE gives ANY shit about how girls self-esteem is. NO ONE gave a shit at ALL when I was a teenager.

and here's a question: how are they supposed to address the issue of the beauty industry;s onslaught of negative body imagery without showing it??

that was awesome, thank you, good night

it seems like very few of you have ANY idea how cynical advertising companies and multinationals are. you have zero clue. like you have an advertising IQ of 24.
This advert is cynical bullshit, these people are not your friends, they don't give a fuck about little girls unless little girls are selling their products.

If you think the people making this ad aren't fully aware of the hypocrisy then i suggest you spend five minutes making the tea in a big ad agency, and listen to a few of the conversations that go on there.

haha, hooray for "related videos"
http://www.videosift.com/video/Bill-Hicks-on-Marketing-and-Advertising
Satan's little helpers!!!

I think MINK nailed it.

Yes MINK...you are so much smarter than we are. We bow to your obviously superior intellect.

And bravo to refer to a Bill Hicks rant to emphasize your point! What a joyful, happy life you must lead knowing how much better you are than us! Yes, we have zero clue and the advertising IQ of 24.

It's too bad because don't people like you rant and rant and rant until you hit about 30 then kill yourselves...leaving some rambling suicide note on how you were too good for the world? Tick tock, tick tock...the clock is running.

riiiiight.

I'm no market researcher or anything, but I wonder if you folks have realized that all beauty issues aside, Dove is pretty much saying; "this is bad, but we're not... we love your children" which sounds like a marketing ploy to me.
Just my opinion though.

ohhh you're all so terribly right because after all, we know that advertising people are not actually human, they are all borgs who despise everything hunan and are doing their damnedest to bring about the downfall of humanity. Advertising people don't have families, children, or love of any kind in their hearts. There couldn't possibly be anyone in advertising who has anythig but a cruelgreedy heart of stone. NOt at all possible that perhaps some executive decision-maker somewhere thought that MAAAAAYBE they ought to address some of the damage that the beauty industry creates. Never. Nope. Those guys are all just the embodiment of evil. We bear no responsibility for our own lack of guidance to children when they are constantly exposed to this crap on OUR television sets and OUR choices of media exposure in OUR houses.

Yeesh.

Of course this video is designed to market Dove products.
Of course this video could help a young woman feel better about herself.
Of course it's possible for all of you to be correct.
The internet (the this site less than most, most of the time) is about overstating opinions, I think. Take every comment made and turn the dial down from 11, and that's about right. But I'm glad everyone is talking. Keep it unyoutubey. Go team!

There are various ways of looking at it. Maybe this ad is analogous to McDonalds catering 'healthy' meal options, or petrol companies 'supporting' environmental issues, in that it could all be a psychological ploy to get you to think the big bad bully has a warm tender heart. Alternatively, maybe there is in fact a sense of altruism and these companies really do wish to do good. Maybe it's more complex.

Having worked in the advertising industry, I feel safe in my conclusion - your mileage may vary

Good luck with proving that Unilever has a sense of altruism and really wishes to do good. I think you'll find my Paris Hilton quotation off their website an interesting place to start

smibbo I have a problem with one company cynically putting out whatever message it thinks you want to hear, regardless of its product portfolio as a whole, especially when that message involves little girls and body image.

People seem to be upvoting the concept regardless of the source, well OK, remember I never attacked the slogan, just the source is completely fubar and the execution is 100% hypocritical. If they said "we are pulling out of the evil beauty industry and putting all our money into childrens' hospitals" then i might upvote.

If George Bush says "we need to bring peace to the middle east" do you just applaud him or do you look at other things he does as well?

And didn't you notice that the girl they featured is impossibly beautiful?

Anyway.

I recall this entire site being dedicated to filtering through videos hopefully keeping those that are well-made, entertaining and/or thought-provoking. I submit that whatever your thoughts on the parent corporation, this video is all three. My prejudice towards an affiliate of the source material does not overcome my appreciation of the medium in question.

I also recognize that the sins of the parent are not always inherited by the child, thus Unilever may be all hypocritical in all realms, that does necessarily mean its lesser acquisitions are the same.

and at two months I've already been told my own daughter is "Criminally cute" the little girl at the end may be unusually beautiful but impossible? I don't think so... after all, her face in the camera proves her beauty is quite possible indeed. The fact is, she may still grow up believing she is not attractive.

If George Bush says "we need to bring peace to the middle east" I will agree with the statement while remembering his past misdeeds.

dude i am not trying to delete your video, i am just pointing out the insane hypocrisy (which many people wouldn't even notice because they don't know who the parent company is and they think Dove is a team of plucky young skincare professionals working hard against the nasty beauty industry).

If the hypocrisy doesn't bother most people then fine, i am not trying to block them from voting. I am very surprised at the number of normally critical people who have upvoted this without regard for the hypocrisy, but c'est la vie, it's fascinating.

Hello, welcome to Intarwebs, people here sometimes don't agree with what you say.

People don't like being lied to by cynical marketeers, but more than that... they REALLY don't like being called on it, resulting in a "shoot the messenger" scenario.

interesting to compare with the reaction on this thread:

http://www.videosift.com/video/how-she-gets-to-look-that-beautiful

^this is the ad where Dove show you what advertisers do with photoshop to make women look more beautiful. Of course the women in Dove ads are NEVER photoshopped, their ad agency uninstalled all copies of photoshop in 2003.

Dove is about as clean as Phillip Morris when they tout anti-smoking campaigns. But at least they make better ads.

petrochemicals tested on animals.

You can bet the cute little kid was made up, lit and photographed by professionals and even then got retouched in the production stage.

I agree that you never hear about sterotypes of male beauty despite every ad on tv either features the hunk or the wimpy loser to laugh at. Studies continually highlight the rise in male anorexia and image disorders, year after year, because business smells money to be made in male cosmetics. Advertisers will do or say anything to sell the product and keep their contract.

I am completely behind Smibbo on this one.

Also see
http://www.videosift.com/video/how-she-gets-to-look-that-beautiful
and afterwards:
http://www.videosift.com/video/A-message-from-Unilever

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Replacement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=321Kb8pBu5s

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*promote
HD version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOg1nWJ4T8

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 3:56am PDT - promote requested by videosiftbannedme.

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