Comments on: Science vs. Dove: Thanks, but we are NOT our own worst beauty critics

By: Amber

Amber — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:34 +0000

Gross. I couldn’t even watch this ad. I find it hard to watch ANY Dove commercial since I found out Unilever (Dove’s parent company) also owns Axe.

To me, Dove is selling us bullshit to make us buy stuff. I don’t think we should look to product advertisements to tell us what to think about ourselves. I like what was said in a comment below, that we should look to loved ones instead, because they are the only ones who ACTUALLY CARE about the way we feel.

I hate this because I’m 18, I’m figuring out what it is to be a woman, and all this commercial does for me is say “Women are insecure.” Women are insecure and need others to tell them otherwise.

Great.

I wasn’t insecure until I noticed the women around me always picking on themselves, and started thinking dissatisfaction was a part of womanhood. I hate it.

Thanks for the article though. I wrote down the part about how “we don’t come up with this insanity ourselves”. i will need to remember that.

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:56:39 +0000

I couldn’t have said it better myself. At the end of the day, they’re trying to sell us stuff!

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:55:38 +0000

Why thank you Helen!

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:55:11 +0000

Esther – I am in complete agreement that this ad is sooooo much better than almost anything else out there. That said, I’m still waiting for that ad campaign that tells us “It’s okay to be ugly – you have SO much more to offer the world than a perfect smile, or freckle-free skin!”

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:53:44 +0000

Wendy – you sound like you’ve been to an About-Face workshop! Great analytical questions.

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:53:03 +0000

I think we were all suckered a bit, but at the end of the day I think this ad does more good than harm! If it made you feel more confident, don’t let my essay take that away from you!

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:52:15 +0000

Great Helen Keller quote Cindy! Warm fuzzies.

By: Kjerstin

Kjerstin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:51:32 +0000

Hi Alicia – I agree that the portraits weren’t intrinsically prettier or uglier. It’s all part of perception and cultural values. I, for one, am a fan of freckles and love my scars! Laugh lines and smile wrinkles are a sign of a well-lived life, and “fat” cheeks are fun to kiss!

By: it’s FRIDAY. | missverasays

it’s FRIDAY. | missverasays — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:42:22 +0000

[...] +Science vs. Dove: The “Science” behind the Dove ad that has gone viral. [...]

By: justme

justme — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:01:17 +0000

Thank you for this article! I was strangely unsettled by the Dove sketch ad (and the fact that the sketch artist was a: a man, and b: deliberately drawing the self-described faces as more “ugly”, and the others as more “beautiful”), but I couldn’t put my finger on why, exactly. This article hit the nail on the head. The Dove real beauty ads aren’t offensive (hell, they’re better than most beauty ads), but they’re definitely biased. And at the end of the day, they’re trying to sell stuff. Women don’t tend to buy beauty products if they don’t feel like they need them.