The Dove Real Beauty Pledge
Today we are recommitting to real beauty with the Dove Real Beauty Pledge – three vows we promise to uphold for women everywhere:
1. We always feature real women, never models
Models reflect a narrow view of beauty. Dove believes that beauty is for everyone and therefore features real women of different ages, sizes, ethnicities, hair colour, type or style.
- Zero models in our campaigns
- Real women introduced by their names
- Our campaigns reflect the population’s diversity
2. We portray women as they are in real life
We never present the unachievable, manipulated, flawless images of ‘perfect’ beauty which the use of retouching tools can promote.
- Zero digital distortion of women
- Images approved by the women we feature
3. We help girls build body confidence and self-esteem
Globally 8 out of 10 girls opt out of key life activities when they don’t feel good about the way they look. Dove has a mission to ensure the next generation grows up enjoying a positive relationship with the way they look – helping young people raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential.
For over 10 years, the Dove Self-Esteem Project has educated more than 20 million young people in body confidence and self-esteem and has become the biggest provider of self-esteem education globally. We work with world-renowned body image experts and leading universities to develop evidence based and academically validated educational tools.
- Educate 20 million more young people around the world on body confidence and self-esteem by 2020.
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Portraits by Mario Testino
To mark the launch of the Dove Real Beauty Pledge, renowned photographer and creative director Mario Testino photographed 30 portraits capturing the beauty of women from around the world. All the images were inspired by, and shot, according to the Dove Real Beauty Pledge and feature 32 real women and girls, aged 11 to 71, from over 15 countries. The portraits make up part of the Dove Real Beauty Showcase, celebrating 60 years of Dove, which was on display in New York City.
Each of the women had a say in how they looked in their photographs. They include Vicki, a retired medal-winning Paralympian from the UK who had to change her definition of beauty after losing her leg to cancer; and Paola, a football lover who started her own club for girls in her hometown of Mexico City after she noticed many young girls drop out of sports as they entered their teenage years.
There’s also Cammy, a young woman who participated in the Dove Self-Esteem Project over 10 years ago, and now passes it on to the next generation of young girls through her public speaking and coaching.
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty
In 2004, we launched the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a first-ever campaign to feature and celebrate real women. Since then, the world has changed rapidly and the very definition of beauty has taken on multiple meanings. Today, we see mothers proudly displaying stretch marks on Instagram, women rejecting the allure of the ‘perfect’ size, and young girls celebrating diversity of skin colour and hair. It’s clear there has never been a more important time for us to re-examine what beauty means and to champion a new broader definition, inspired by the voices of today’s women.
As Dove Global Vice President, Sophie Galvani, explains: “While the beauty landscape is wildly different to what it was in 2004, our commitment to redefining beauty hasn’t changed. The women and girls photographed celebrate true global diversity; each has her own unique beauty story and is a true inspiration for women everywhere.
“We’ve long admired the work that Mario Testino does and his ability to capture the real beauty in women. We are thrilled to work with him as his status and influence in pop culture makes him a valuable champion in helping to make real and diverse beauty more mainstream.”
Mario Testino adds: “The way Dove empowers women to celebrate their own unique beauty has long resonated with me. I have always taken the same approach with my pictures. A photographer has a choice – they can take a picture and make it about themselves by using avant-garde techniques, sometimes capturing the weakness in women, or they can choose to give their picture over to the woman in front of the lens by making her look herself and feel her most powerful.”