Dove has launched a new men’s line. Like Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, Dove’s male targeted campaign seeks to challenge gender stereotypes–this time taking on the external beauty pressures men face. Unilever did the research and shared some interesting findings about male gender identity, including (from the Toronto Star)
- 80 per cent of men in Canada believe they are falsely portrayed in the media – that the washboard abs, bulging pecs and ripped biceps so often featured in television and print ads do not reflect their pale, doughy reality.
- Men reject advertising that portrays the ideal man as rich, implausibly handsome and aggressively ambitious– real men are more inclined to value their personality and sense of humour over money and possessions.
To combat these stereotypes Dove created a big, splashy ad called The Road to Comfort that launched during the Superbowl. It’s a good spot targeted to men who are at the stage of life where they are literally and figuratively comfortable in their own skin and want to abandon traditional ideas of male identity and embrace who they really are. The men’s care products are targeted to men who are ok using male targeted cosmetic brands.
I’m not the first to notice that Unilever, the same company who owns Dove, also owns Axe; the brand famous for promoting the Axe effect. Not sure what the Axe Effect is? Check out this ad where women in bikinis run (with their breasts freely bouncing) from every corner of the globe, magnetically drawn to a man who is spraying himself with Axe fragrance.
This kind of brand-hypocracy is not a new problem and it’s a growing phenomenon as companies buy up more and more existing brands. Consider that Fair Trade chocolate brand Green and Blacks is owned by processed foods giant Kraft. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
How do you feel about a multinational speaking out of both sides of its mouth? Is it hypocritical or do you feel it’s better to use your dollars to vote for brands that carry positive social messages ?
