Dove became an “Actionist” during the pandemic
A reflective case study — Actions speak louder than works…
In an industry worth over $191bn globally, Dove is one of the biggest personal care brand in the world. To maintain this leadership position, Dove has constantly evolved to stay culturally relevant by challenging beauty stereotypes and inspiring women to feel comfortable about the way they look.
Real Beauty is one such campaign that has been running for the past 15 years, that turned Dove into a purposeful brand. With the arrival of Covid-19, soap brands were put on the frontlines, and this is where Dove stood out. The “Courage Is Beautiful” campaign was born.
The campaign was directed at two core audiences- women who care about the world of beauty and frontline healthcare workers saving lives every day. By heroing frontline healthcare workers who posted pictures of their exhausted faces, bruised by protective face masks after 18+ hour shifts, the campaign managed to show the beauty of their courage without exploiting them.
Dove threaded on the fine line of doing what was right during the pandemic, not taking advantage of the healthcare workers while showcasing the beauty of their courage by creating platforms to thank and honour them, in turn creating a campaign people shared, wanted to talk about and supported.
