This week's discussion on Galvanising girls for development brought to mind a series of Dove (Unilever) advertisements from years ago that I found interesting. I really thought that these two; Dove's Mother's Day: https://youtu.be/Q-7ShlPfWBg and Dove Project #Show us: https://youtu.be/GOZSc7FuRgo were the most interesting for they showed how Dove really cared for its consumers and thought about their well-being, and did not just see them as consumers of their products. How noble of Dove and Unilever!
On the surface, the consumers are at the centre of everything and Dove not only cares for their feelings but their self-image and perception as well as others' perception of them. Dove is taking the lead of subverting hegemonic standards of beauty that are harmful and continuously exclusionary. Their targets, the young girls, women, and people in minority groups, who are the most left out by the ridiculous standards of beauty that are both extremely unattainable and exclusionary, are empowered by the projects in the advertisements. These groups are being encouraged to take the lead in defining their own beauty standards, and so are the target audiences of these advertisements.
On the surface level, these groups of people are given visibility, positive airtime, and a sense of purpose that most people crave for. Isn't that what a perfect world should be like? A place where there is beauty in diversity and where each voice is included?
Looked at shallowly, all these sounds liberating. Too good to be true. However, is that the case? What is the catch for Dove? As part of a huge multinational company, why would Unilever support such projects? Is it out of the goodness of their hearts or is there a big picture? Again, who benefits the most?
Maya Angelou once said that people would forget what you said, what you did, but they would never forget how you made them feel. Seemingly, companies like Dove are putting this quote to good use by incorporating memorability into their marketing. As research from the Independent University of Dhaka reinforces, companies are increasingly using marketing strategies that stay longer in people's memories, and how do they do this? they create catchy advertisements that are easy to remember and have several emotional components. These, do not just get them new followers, it helps them change people's perceptions and attitudes towards their brands while strengthening brand loyalties.
On a deeper level, as Chant (2016) posits, it is Multinational Companies(MNC) like Unilever that benefit the most from these projects and initiatives, in the form of smart economies. As big businesses, they engage in projects that explore any existing gaps to expand their markets. In the Dove project # Showus for instance, the targets are the members of the LGBTQ community, differently-abled people and people of colour. By highlighting the struggles and the vulnerabilities of these groups, the company is investing, expanding, and diversifying its market base. Dove is also attracting donors and organizations that are interested in self- image and social change which is also good for publicity and business. They are additionally strenghtening their brand and making it dominant in the market, obviously increasing their profits. Furthermore, by engaging with consumers firsthand, Dove is able to get immediate feedback regarding their products and services while engaging in market research for new products.
To conclude, I cannot agree more with both Traugler (2019) and Chant (2016) who endorse that the involvement of MNCs in campaigns and projects such as these is problematic because, in addition to many other things, it shifts the focus away from the fact that these MNCs are part of the problem to making them part of the solution. Additionally, just like with the girls in smart economics, the solutions to large structural problems are delegated to groups who can do very little to change or solve them. In the end, it is Dove and Unilever who are the best winners.
References.
https://www.abacademies.org/articles/a-study-on-the-influences-of-advertisement-on-consumer-buying-behavior-7177.html
Chant, S. (2016). Galvanizing girls for development? Critiquing the shift from ‘smart’to ‘smarter economics’. Progress in Development Studies, 16(4), 314-328.
Dove's Mother's Day: https://youtu.be/Q-7ShlPfWBg
Dove Project #Show us: https://youtu.be/GOZSc7FuRgo
Trauger, A., & Fluri, J. L. (2019). Engendering development: capitalism and inequality in the global economy. Routledge.
Great Blog Laureen, it is all about the economy; when I was watching these ads, what I thought about is that by using Dove, your skin will be bright like the ideal ladies showed in the ads, and by using Dove, your daughters will look up to you as a model! In my Bachelor's, I studied business administration and marketing, so I know how these companies frame their advertising and do marketing. I think these ads are not only problematic, as you mentioned but also, is it ethical or not? These companies are exploiting consumers through emotional materials; so they can create a need, and therefore, increase their profits.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, who can stop these companies? They are capitalist who follows the neo-liberal approach, there is no state control, and they have a free market to impose whatever they require. Here we go back to the main issue, which is neoliberalism and capitalism, and the negotiation of last week about the smart-economy and the equality of women. A smart economy will never bring equality to women as they are being used for the advantage of the capitalist world.
Thank you Dina for the insightful response.
DeleteI agree with you on the fact that advertisements are framed in a particular way to meet the demands of an ever growing and dynamic audience while the companies' aim remains to be profit making.
Also, whether the ads are ethical or not, it is hard to tell. While the exploitation of people is morally wrong, standards of morality are relative to cultures and places, and I doubt if businesses are guided by moral principles.
Lastly, big multinational companies cannot be stopped. They literally run economies and control institutions, and since most countries have adopted capitalism as their political and economic system, in most cases, the government would have no say in their business dealings.
I enjoyed your post Laureen. It is a great example of how large multinational corporations use the marginalized, in this case women and minorities to legitimize their existence with an uplifting and positive add. Once these companies acknowledge these women’s existence, they are in effect othering them. By using these women as a focus group subjugates them as the other, the ones who are different in society. Obviously, the Western media and advertisements do not represent all women, but to recognize this as fact does strengthen the stereotypes that all women are not considered beautiful in society. The ads are othering women who the media does not deem worthy of beauty and it is Dove who will come to the rescue of all women and declare them beautiful. A righteous company who will set the record straight. Dove’s good intentions is not to equalize beauty, but rather practices smart economics under the pretext it supports gender equality pertaining to women’s perceptions. In actuality, Dove follows the lead of capitalist corporations and manipulates consumers beliefs and emotions, as Dina mentioned of perceptions of beauty and the mother daughter relationship, in order to line their own pockets with profit.
ReplyDeleteRukhsana, thank you for the great comments. You raise a very important point on othering. It is true that whether intentionally or not, the fact that Dove is after all this time, just remembering women of color, LGBTQ+ and differently abled people, not only others people in these categories, but also reinforces existent stereotypes of beauty.
ReplyDeleteLike you point out, these companies seem to be righteously setting the record straight, but in real sense, they are reinforcing hegemonic tendencies of 'us and them', 'us' representing the model of beauty that 'others' should strive to get at while 'them' are the others, who need to be fixed. Companies like Dove, which are form the West, then sweep in with the solution further reinforcing the Victim - Saviour duality.