Previous Authenticity Controversies re: Dove & Unilever

Share

corporate shills  dove ad

Can Dove / Unilever be thought of as ‘authentic’?

1. Dove makes and sells products to ‘fix’ women’s beauty problems, and contradicts the messages it intends to send in the "real beauty" campaign. These unreasonable standards of beauty hurt women and girls . CBC’s Street Cents "examines whether Dove wants to turn beauty standards/stereotypes on their ear or just turn a profit."

2. Dove’s parent company, Unilever, uses sexist advertising to sell its Axe mens/boys products . How can an organization that promotes "real beauty" also promote the idea of young women becoming sex-crazed predators whenever they get near a guy using Axe body spray? Can an organization get credit for being ‘pro-women’ and ‘anti-women’ at the same time? How can Unilever be an authentic organization then?

On a related note:

Is retouching that big a deal?

For a nice example of ‘common’ retouching, check out this old post at Jezebel, showing the retouching of the Redbook Magazine cover photo of Faith Hill , back in July of 2007.

Also, see the famous Jamie Lee Curtis: True Thighs – MORE Magazine

l_jamielee11.jpg

Jamie Lee Curtis ‘after’

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE

Harquail, C. V. (2008, May 11). Previous Authenticity Controversies re: Dove & Unilever. CV Harquail. https://cvharquail.com/previous-authenticity-controversies-re-dove-unilever/

Read more in Authentic Organizations

THE FLAGSHIP TOOL

The Feminist Business Model Canvas™

A one-page tool for building a business without sacrificing your values.

THE NEWSLETTER

Think differently about business. Every month.

The Feminist Future of Business is my free monthly letter on putting feminism to work in the businesses we build. Reconsider conventional business advice and explore feminist practices, one insight, tool, and framework at a time.

Free. Monthly. Unsubscribe anytime, and I'll never share your email.