Dove's #StopTheBeautyTest campaign won the award for the Brand Campaign of the Year at the 18th edition of India Business Leader Awards. The award was presented by Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis to HUL's Beauty & Wellbeing India - Skincare Head Harman Dhillon.

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The winners for IBLA 2023 were selected by a jury which comprised of leaders such as Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Zarin Daruwala of Standard Chartered Bank, Dinesh Kumar Khara of State Bank of India, Sanjeev Mehta of Hindustan Unilever, Anish Shah of Mahindra Group, TV Narendran of Tata Steel, Prabha Narasimhan of Colgate, V Vaidyanathan of IDFC First Bank, Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India and Rajiv Memani of EY India. The jury was chaired by Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group.

For the past decade, skincare brand Dove has been implementing its Self-Esteem Project on a global scale to promote beauty as a source of confidence instead of anxiety. The goal is to empower young girls and boost their confidence in their own skin. By investing in such initiatives over the long term, the brand is demonstrating its solidarity with its consumers in their struggle against societal beauty standards, rather than simply paying lip service.

Dove marked Daughters' Day on September 25 by launching a follow-up to its acclaimed #StopTheBeautyTest campaign. Additionally, the brand purchased a full-page print ad in newspapers, encouraging individuals to alter their perception of beauty and commit to the #StopTheBeautyTest movement.

Accompanied by a caption that reads, "Your assessment of her face and body is not a report card," Dove's ad film boldly addresses the pressing issue of the "beauty test" that Indian girls face during their school years. The brand advocates change and urges society to join the #StopTheBeautyTest movement.

Dove's powerful message aims to challenge society's traditional notion of "beauty" and abolish the harmful practice of using "report cards" that prioritise external opinions on looks or a potential spouse's views rather than one's abilities or education. The brand calls for a shift in mindset and a movement towards valuing inner qualities over outward appearance.

In conjunction with the #StopTheBeautyTest 2.0 initiative, Dove collaborated with Bobble AI to launch an app that sheds light on the profound impact of beauty evaluations on young people's minds, particularly on their self-esteem and confidence during their developmental years. This partnership seeks to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of societal beauty standards and encourage individuals to join the movement towards positive change.

With a staggering user base of over 76 million across diverse types and ranges of smartphone devices in India, the app created through the Dove-Bobble AI partnership offers a unique keyboard platform. Utilising contextual AI technology, this app provides users with a personalised and intuitive typing experience, enhancing the overall user experience.

The Dove-Bobble AI integration cleverly employs the covert auto-suggest function within Bobble AI's keyboards to encourage positive affirmations in conversations. This innovative feature prompts users to avoid using language or comments that could harm a woman's self-esteem. For instance, when a user inputs a potentially harmful comment such as "try losing some weight," a pop-up appears with the message, "All sizes are lovely," serving as a gentle reminder to prioritise positivity in language and interactions.

Dove's #StopTheBeautyTest 2.0 campaign was met with resounding praise from both the public and netizens. The campaign's message of promoting beauty as a source of confidence rather than anxiety, struck a chord with many. Within a brief period, the campaign garnered over 46 million views, igniting a trend on social media where individuals included #stopthebeautytest in their posts and messages. The success of the campaign is a testament to Dove's continued commitment to empowering young girls and challenging societal beauty standards.

The initial phase of the campaign received numerous accolades, while the subsequent stage was generally well-received by the industry. Nonetheless, several advertising experts pointed out a dichotomy between two HUL sub-brands that seemingly promote conflicting concepts. HUL, the parent company of Dove in India, also owns Glow and Lovely (previously called Fair and Lovely), leading some to question the authenticity of the campaigns. Despite these concerns, the campaign generated significant buzz and drew widespread attention.

Click here for the complete coverage of India Business Leader Awards 2023

(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)

First Published:May 11, 2023 6:12 PM IST