Dove: “Real Beauty” packaging
Dove succeeded in creating a positive body image with their “Real Beauty” campaign aimed at building self-confidence in women and young children. Ever since 2004 when it was first launched, the campaign has managed to promote a strong body image and celebrate real women.
But then something went wrong. In their spot released in England, Dove presented a limited-edition packaging that compared women’s figures to abstract soap bottles. Needless to say, it was not well received by the public, not when the products increased self-consciousness instead of a positive body image and women were somehow “forced” to choose the bottle corresponding to their shape.
1 thought on “11 Advertising Campaigns That Backfired Spectacularly”
That McDonalds ad was not at all objectionable. In brief for those who haven’t seen it, a boy (maybe 10 or 11 years old) is asking his mom about his dead father. He is not bereaved, he does not even remember his father who died long ago. His mom points out a number of things in describing him. Each time, the thing about the dad is different than the son. (Sharp dresser, shiny shoes, good at sport, all the girls were attracted to him… while the boy notices his shirt untucked, his sneakers dirty, he kicks a soccer ball and flubs it, and some girls passing by only give him a look of disgust). But when they get to McD and he opens his fish sandwich box, his mom says ‘that was your dad’s favorite too’. For the first time he hears something he has in common with his late dad.
Not a thing in the world wrong with that and the people who spend all their time looking for reasons to be offended should get a life. Nobody was using bereavement to sell sandwiches.