Opposing Ad Culture March 22, 2010 MIT3214 by Andrea Benoit, PhD Student

$300m. global advertising campaign September, 2004 American Vogue billboards, ads, public places (Toronto Eaton Centre) “personal approach to beauty” “emotional moment when a woman interacts with the product” Lancôme, 2004

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Dove Soap: “1/4 moisturizing cream” Unilever, 1957 beauty bar for sensitive skin “trustworthy” brand top-selling cleansing brand over one billion showers taken with Dove 2009: outsells all other skin care brands in US €3.5 billion

Dove Manifesto (N. A. 2004) “Opposing” Beauty Ad Culture Global Study unrealistic beauty standards media representations of girls/women female self-esteem academic, feminist endorsement: Susie Orbach, Nancy Etcoff

Flawed? or Flawless? October, 2004 (N. America) “real” women no photo retouching Tick Box ads unconventional features cast vote on website democratic beauty citizenship no product (yet)

Gray? or Gorgeous? Dove Self-Esteem Fund Beyond Compare photography exhibit website: campaignforrealbeauty.ca vote; quizzes; self-esteem workshop; sleepover; blogs Body & Soul, 2007 (Dir. Judith Thompson) Girl Scouts

Half empty? or Half full? only 2% of women worldwide think they’re beautiful internal/external beauty beauty = body/external beauty = soul/internal inner beauty & self-esteem outer beauty & self-care

Wrinkled? or Wonderful? MNet (Media Awareness Network, Canada), “Teachable Moment” NOW (National Organization of Women, US) - “Image of Women” award, 2006

Dove Firming, (UK, 2004, N.A. 2005) first product in N. America (2005) UK: 2004 sales exceeded expectations 120% contradictions?

corporate response effective? lacks challenge to beauty ideology and social structures i.e. capitalism does not critique consumer culture “dissent” is converted to brand loyalty, manifested in “self-care” through Dove product “feminist consumerism” lacks necessary hard work for social change global scale “Feminist Consumerism and Fat Activism” Johnston and Taylor Campaign for Real Beauty

Evolution, Ogilvy & Mather, 2006 (Dir. Tim Piper)

Uploaded October 6, 2006 to YouTube Tim Piper + one random upload = 1.7m hits within two weeks No additional advertising dollars spent “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” Viewer comments (2006) Evolution Revolution

Responses to the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty media response: Oprah, Good Morning America, The View, Ellen DeGeneres, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, Geraldo industry response: two Grand Prix awards, Cannes, 2007 consumer response: Sales Dove Firming: 123% literacy groups: MNet, NOW academy: Johnston and Taylor internet response: blogs, YouTube, parodies

PPPO: grassroots/subcultural response anger, pain, humiliation, shame performance art and “camp” challenge to beauty, but also sexuality and gender “pretty” not beautiful dissonant images refute heteronormative male gaze consciousness-raising and community building small scale activism has a personal element Pretty, Porky and Pissed Off

MediaWatch ( ) / Media Action Média Media Action: gender equity in the media MAM, 2009: “Beauty (Mis)Represented” lecture MediaWatch: addressing both underrepresentation and stereotypical portrayal of women in the media communicate concerns to broadcasters and advertisers CRTC/legislative interventions/policy change research/studies i.e. content analysis first study on Canadian women’s attitudes toward representations in the media (1994) bottom line: women would “vote with their dollars” through boycott/buycott complaints process: “Your Media Image is Hazardous to my Health!”

Media Foundation anti-consumerism “subvertising” anti-advertising ads “Buy Nothing Day” brand logic/brand community i.e. Blackspot sneaker confronts corporate representation counterculture reabsorbed back into market Adbusters: Culturejammer Headquarters

Culture Jamming Techniques knowledge of brands: “cultural capital” and “semiological warfare” quest for authenticity challenges the ideology of capitalism political precedent: human rights/concern for nature reveals relationships between production and consumption alteration of ads through parody exposes the “backstage” of the brand boycott and “buycott” word of mouth, viral, one-to-one communications serves larger social movements

Pears Soap: Lillie Langtry & Bubbles (1887)

Pears Soap Parody: Punch magazine (1893)

“Zac Efron”

Revolution

Campaign for the Perfect Facebook Pic

“Nescafe Transformación”

Slob Evolution, 2006 (Dir. Simon Willows)

Can the culture be jammed? OUTSTANDING BROADBAND PROGRAM - COMEDY Slob Evolution * Blink Productions CLAIRE JONES, PRODUCER SIMON WILLOWS, DIRECTOR MARK AARONS, EDITOR

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Questions? Comments? Thank you!