Interactive Love

Dove has re-shaped the way beauty is marketed to women in recent years. The new (and improved) message to Dove users, primarily women, is you are beautiful the way you are, Dove wants help you keep your skin moisturized with our product. The Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty" was an immense success in 2006, you can see the launch video here. Since then, Dove has released a trail of advertising all delivering this same message and in quest for real beauty. It only seems fitting their next step in this story fits in around Valentines Day.

Dove has launched an interactive social media forum in London's Victoria Station. A massive electronic billboard lights up tweets and text messages from commuters with the hashtag #DOVELOVE. Questions in the beginning of the campaign were laced around the user of Dove products: "what makes you feel beautiful" and "who is the most beautiful woman you know?  why?". Today on Valentines Day, Dove asks, "what do you love about your Valentine" and is spreading more love by handing out white tulips to commuters.

I'm a woman who has experienced a serious commute and can I say that something sweet like this would have been enough to slow down my lightning pace steps through the train station and take in the beauty that is love. It is estimated 350,000 people will walk past this board everyday for the 7 days the billboard is active (until February 19th). I wonder how many of those are women whose lightening steps are also slowed to give way for a smile and a deep breath.

Marc Mathieu is Unilever's SVP of marketing, he told Marketing Week that brand marketers need to "be more noble". It's true in a world of advertising where L’Oreal creative is being banned in the UK for being too unrealistic. It's refreshing to have a beauty brand discuss the beauty of a woman, not how they can change her or tell her she can look supremely younger. It is indeed "more noble" to market with this intention. Bravo, Dove.

         Billboard at Victoria Station in the UK "who is the most beautiful woman you know? why?"