We are all consumers. Whether we want to it admit it or not we are perpetuating, in one way or another, the monster industries out there. Once in a while though there comes along a company, or an advertisement campaign, or a certain angle that a company will take that you admire. Dove’s recent pro-age campaign is admirable. While it has come under a lot of criticism for objectifying women, even though they’re above 50, you have to admit that the campaign was such a breather from everything else out there. Of course the motive behind companies is to make a profit. Dove’s pro-age campaign for women above 50 cites many reasons for their drive for “real beauty”, all of which you can see on their website. Their advertisements have been banned in the U.S. for- hold your breath- showing too much skin. Women are shown au natural in strategic poses showing off their ‘normalcy’.
In 2006, Dove started the “Dove Self Esteem Fund” whose purpose was to be an “agent of change” to help expand the definition of beauty. Dove’s drive to manufacture “pro-age” products as an answer to the growing array of anti-aging ranges out there was a master stroke. Yes, they do all want the same thing, i.e. to have you buy the product. But the small degree of reality that Dove brought to its commercials was a breather. Yes, you can argue that Unilever, Dove’s parent company, produces a wide selection of products that actually go against Dove’s purported aims of trying to promote natural beauty. While that may be true, what Boomer Yearbook wants to talk about in this psychological article the advertisement and why it was taken off air?
The commercial (which can be seen anywhere on the internet, including Dove’s
Feminists argue that the use of female nudity is a type of discrimination and shouldn’t be allowed to sell any product, no matter what the motives behind the product are. As psychological articles have said over and over, sex sells advertising, it’s all a game and the game is to make money. We at Boomer Yearbook gave Dove credit for coming up with a wonderful demonstration of real baby boomer women. As far as ads go, the baby boomer women we asked thought it was a great ad; and we think pulling it off the air was done as an ageist type of discrimination against showing non air brushed, non young, but very real and appealing baby boomer women. If boards know what is best for women and children then the first ads to go should be the countless others out there blatantly objectifying women and not Dove’s elegant classy advertisements.
We at Boomer Yearbook are hurt and offended that Dove has pulled these ads. We’d love to hear what you think.
Boomer Yearbook.com is a free social networking website for the Baby Boomer generation. Share your thoughts, rediscover old friends, or expand your mind with online otpical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join today to discover the many ways we are helping Boomers connect for fun and profit.
Tags: baby boomer generation, Elderly Problems, marketing to baby boomers, Online Optical Illusions, Psychological Articles, types of discrimination