Description: What’s this “Real Beauty Sketches” Dove commercial that everybody’s talking about? It’s a Web-only commercial that made its debut in mid-April as part of Dove’s ongoing “Campaign for Real Beauty.” In the spot, which is presented in both three- and seven-minute versions, a forensic sketch artist draws several women, based only on their descriptions. (They’re concealed behind a screen.) Then he draws a different portrait of each woman, based on descriptions by relative strangers. The resulting sketches are displayed side by side; in all cases the portraits inspired by strangers are more flattering than the women’s own versions of themselves. The tagline reads: “You are more beautiful than you think.”

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Apr 26, 2013

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-26/how-those-dove-real-beauty-sketch-ads-went-viral#r=read

Questions for Discussions:

• Summarize the highlights in this report.
• After watching the ads, do you think the criticism is well-founded?
• What do you believe the intended messages are in the ads?
• What are some possible unintended messages?
• Do you think the campaign is socially responsible?