Body positivity has always been central to Dove’s ad campaigns, but with pop culture shifting away from the progressive attitudes that defined the last decade, the brand is clearly facing an identity crisis: Dove’s new commercial features a 700-pound woman and a size two blonde in Daisy Dukes rubbing lotion on each other.
Wow. Looks like the brand’s really trying to figure out their next move.
The personal care brand showed just how confused they are regarding their current brand identity in their new commercial where an incredibly overweight woman rubs lotion onto a stick-skinny woman while the women pose various questions to the audience in voiceover, ranging from, “Does my morbid yet beautiful obesity inspire you? Does that make you want to buy lotion?” to, “Gee, I sure wish a man were here to moisturize my dry, dry double D’s. Is that what you wanna hear? Would that make you buy lotion?”
As the women rub their hands all over one another, a QR code begins flashing onscreen, which brings viewers to a webpage where they can cast their vote about whether they still care about body positivity. On the website, Dove explains that they have plenty of commercials stockpiled where overweight women are told they’re perfect, but they’re willing to do a full pivot if everyone would rather see runway models in wet t-shirts use Dove soap to wash a pickup truck instead.
Nailing the right tone in your marketing is difficult, but it seems like Dove is willing to do what it takes to adapt with the times. Here’s hoping they get the answers they’re looking for!