Talk to Your Daughter

I have been eagerly anticipating today, October 1st; I have a big red circle on my calendar. If your thinking, hey Ron, isn’t that Nigerian Independence Day, or isn’t that the Peoples Republic National Day in China, you’d be absolutely right--but it’s not why it’s circled. Those of you who know me better might dig deeper, and ask, isn’t that the beginning of the harvest moon, or the day that Barbra Streisand signed her first recording contract with Columbia? Again you would be right, but it doesn’t account for the red circle on my calendar.

It’s not my birthday, but it may be more anticipated, and I’m turning 50 this year! Oct. 1 marks the launch for the newest ad campaign for Dove (aka Unilever) Soap products. The commercial will begin to air on www.youtube.com. There were no glimpses yet, but the industry is all abuzz. Not since “The Da Vinci’s Code’s” trailers has there been so much hype and anticipation. Dove’s latest commercial promises to be this year's most talked about ad campaign, which speaks volumes given Dove's phenomenally successful “Real Beauty" and “Evolution” campaigns. The Evolution campaign won top honors at the Academy Award version of TV commercials, the Cannes Grand Prix. Both commercials are available on Youtube.com, each with so many millions of hits as not to be imagined. If you aren’t familiar, then you must have been raised in outer space.

The commercial titled “Onslaught” is the brainchild of advertising monolith Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, in which, out of the darkness we hear a voice warning “Here it comes”... cue Hitchcockian staccato-like music, then in a concise 60 seconds a seemingly Rockwellian 7-year-old girl is bombarded with all the body image advertising she, (let me say it again for emphasis, a S-E-V-E-N-year-old) will see in a year, followed by the tag line “Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does." It sounds more ominous than the opening credits for Jodie Foster’s latest vigilante film. It sounds frightening, alarming, and so insightful, that I hope every mother and daughter will discuss it. If I could get a daughter by October 1st I would.

The Dove advertising is unique among controversially based ads, as it actually sells product, enhances the corporate identity and helps to contribute the cultural debate about self-images. Kudos for Dove for knowing who their customers are; for not being afraid to take a stand; for having confidence in their product and the American public. Dove is authentic, honest and relevant. Doves’ advertising is so cleverly covert, in as much as it makes you feel like you're doing something good for the world by washing your face. I’m switching brands.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger