In its mission to end the mental health issues caused by toxic beauty standards online and in media, Dove partnered with a young woman who experienced a health crisis related to toxic beauty standards, telling her story in a short film aimed at driving awareness and action.
The goals for this campaign were twofold. First, Unilever wanted to highlight the scale of the social media-induced mental health crisis among kids. Second, the brand wanted to inspire the world to act, demand change, and save kids from the dire consequences of toxic beauty content. To achieve these goals, Dove wanted to mobilize the masses by creating a single, shareable film and get viewers to sign the petition to support the Kids Online Safety Act.
Toxic beauty content is devastating the mental health of three in five kids, with an entire generation in crisis. Dove wanted to support the Kids Online Safety Act. To inspire others to do the same, the brand told the story of Mary — a girl who almost lost her life from an eating disorder. However, the brand didn't need to film her story, Mary already had. Using her own photos, videos, and journal entries, spanning over a decade, Dove and Mary created a film that showed her downward spiral after getting her first phone and joining social media. The film was set to an emotional female cover of Joe Cocker's iconic song, "You Are So Beautiful to Me," reimagined by popular musician, Self Esteem. The film culminates with a sad realization: This isn't just Mary's story; it's the story of millions of other girls.
The campaign target was focused on reaching the most qualified audience — moms. For this reason, the media was targeted toward women ages 35 to 54 of various ethnic groups, including Black, Hispanic, and the general market
Based on Dove backed research, the brand found:
Young girls are paying a heavy price for toxic beauty content — a cost our society cannot afford. The company needed parents to understand that their daughters' appearance dissatisfaction isn't just a passing phase. It's a deeply serious issue driven by relentless comparison on social media, capable of leading to profound mental health issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even suicide.
To ensure its message resonated, Dove launched a film about the harms of social media designed to run on social media. However, the platforms banned the film in paid media almost instantly, drastically reducing its reach. Dove looked at channels where the video could be showcased in full, such as digital video and cinema. The brand also had to be mindful of current platform policies toward politically affiliated messages. The action Dove took as a result was working with Common Sense Media to advocate for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
With the original plan not able to be executed, Dove adjusted and distributed to platforms such as YouTube and Cinema — some of the few options within paid media that support running long-form assets. Cinema was used strategically because of the uninterrupted environment with an engaged audience.
Within the digital and social environment, Dove integrated short-form versions of the creative to stoke interest and inform consumers of the harmful content teen girls are exposed to within their feed. With this shocking message, and consideration buying tactic (optimized to serve to consumers most likely to click), the brand directed consumers to a campaign landing page where they would be able to view the full-length long form video, learn more about what Dove is doing to keep kids safe, and express their support of the KOSA bill.
To hit moms within their communities, Dove tested a new digital partner — Patch. Doing so allowed Dove to reach Moms within spaces where they were interacting with their local communities by tapping into Patch's community-based platform, leveraging high impact video units to intercept users with an engaging format.
Print and audio podcasts were also leveraged to bring the message outside of the digital ecosystem and into offline channels. Dove activated print with precision by tapping topical cultural books such as People, The New York Times, and Time.
As of this moment, the film has received more than 69 million views, with 11.1 billion total impressions and is the most shared Dove film of all time, with earned media coverage in 190 placements including NBC, Women's Health, and Teen Vogue. Dove doubled its goal of 50,000 petition signatures for the Kids Online Safety Act. Now, with support of 62 senators and tech companies like Microsoft, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat, the bill is poised to pass the American Senate.
YouTube achieved a 3.6 percent lift in ad recall and an 8 percent lift in Dove's Custom Metric Question of which brands is raising awareness about toxic beauty content.
The podcast partnership with iHeart was effective in driving lifts with the mom audience across various brand attributes including:
