Dove has launched a powerful new campaign inspiring women to embrace their candid beauty. Teaming up with singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha and a host of inspiring influencers, the thoughtful initiative challenges the pristine filtered fakery of social media, inviting us to #ShareTheFirst of our selfies to showcase our most authentic selves.
Known for creating some of the best adverts in challenging beauty standards and uplifting women, Dove's legacy as a progressive and empowering brand cannot be overlooked. Committed to fostering a world that makes "beauty a source of happiness, not anxiety," Dove's latest campaign demonstrates how advertising can be used as a valuable tool to evoke emotion and spark meaningful change.
Based on Dove's research that revealed 8 in 10 US women take up to 50 photos of themselves before finding the perfect 'one' to post, the new movement inspires women to embrace their natural selves. With reportedly 6 in 10 women not posting special moments simply because they did not like how they looked, Dove wants to end the constant cycle of posing, filtering and curating to create a more candid social media environment – one where genuine joy and spontaneity take centre stage.
"The best moments in life aren't staged or filtered, they just happen. But when you're in the spotlight, there's so much pressure to look perfect all the time," says Bebe Rexha. “Scrolling through perfected photos online has affected the way I see myself and my memories and I know I’m not alone," agrees Lucy Reeves, UK-based content creator and body confidence advocate. It’s time for us to change the trend of unrealistic perfection. Let’s post those photos, the real authentic ones because they are enough.”
Dove's stripped-back, candid approach to advertising consistently makes it stand out from the beauty sphere – a branding world that typically pursues perfection. Its campaigns are a perfect example of how bucking the trends and staying consistent with your brand messaging creates an authenticity that cannot be replicated through empty design or performative activism.
For more inspiring ads, take a look at Dove's powerful campaign that rejects unhealthy AI beauty standards. If you're after some more impactful design inspiration, check out Nice and Serious' in-house 'Nice Works’ project The Period Conversation.
