Dove has called on brands and advertisers to join its Be Real Body Image Pledge, a new campaign to address Brits’ anxieties about their appearance.
The Unilever grooming brand wants businesses across a variety of industries – including advertising and fashion – to “show more reality and diversity in external and internal communications” as part of a voluntary initiative backed by Superdrug, New Look, the Government Equalities Office, Facebook and other organisations.
It was designed to encourage healthy body image among the UK public, with Dove calling for the responsible portrayal by the media and advertising of all people, with emphasis on the beauty category’s representation of women.
Organisations that signed up to the Pledge were signalling their intention to reflect diversity and reality in their messages to staff and consumers, and to promote health and wellbeing, said Dove.
The launch of the campaign follows the publication of the 2016 Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report, which found 74% of women and 67% of girls in the UK think the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty.
In 2004, the Dove Self-Esteem Project was founded to help the next generation of women and men develop a ‘positive relationship’ with the way they look.
“For 60 years, Dove has stood for real beauty,” said Mark Bleathman, vice president for personal care at Unilever. “That’s why we are so passionate about Dove taking a leadership role with the Be Real Body Image Pledge. The time to end body image anxiety is now.”
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