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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Consumer's Choice, when there is good and bad.

There has been a lot of fun playing along this week with I heart life and body image. There have been a few women getting their gear off and sharing the top three bits of them with the world. The idea is to really show 'real women'.

But relax, you wont be gettin' none of that here.

Here is a clip titled Beauty Pressure.

It is ultimately promoting the Dove real women campaign, but I do really like this advert. (It is viral only, not on paid networks, as far as I know).  On its own it looks like a promotion worth supporting. Finally a product that uses women that are not stick skinny, a company that is concerned about the effect that seeing so many sexualised women in the media could have on our daughters.




But, considering the owners of Dove also promote Lynx, who degrade women constantly, with ads like this Lynx Jet one:




 ...is Dove really behind the idea of real women, or just hoping that looking like being behind women will result in sales. Is this also their motive in strongly supporting breast cancer research. Does Dove truely have a passionate Corporate Social Responsibility campaign running, or are they just smart enough to know that women are sick of seeing 16 year olds promote the products they buy and Dove can happily reap the rewards of a slick marketing campaign.

As a consumer, the decision is now would you boycott Dove? And Lynx? Or maybe just Lynx? For me, the answer is both, but I do hope Dove continue with their campaign while maybe trying to influence the other "horses in the stable" at Unilever, that women are not just a toy to play with.

Do you ever feel passionate enough about an issue to boycott a company and it's ENTIRE product distribtion?

9 comments:

  1. Dove do Lynx do they? Those scamming bastards. I'll join your boycott.

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  2. Yes, MMBB they do, and a heap of other brands too.

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  3. Yeah, I think the main company just wants to be seen to be 'woman friendly' knowing that a lot of people won't research who the parent company is (http://www.unilever.com.au/brands/ btw).

    I still buy Dove - because I like their product and I applaud the thinking behind these campaigns, but we need to come a little further I think.

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  4. I don't use dove or other brand soaps etc. because myu husband is sensitive to fragrances and I am to other substances in these products.

    It is very duplicitous of them. I won't be having any option to use LYNX I'm sure either. I don't think of it as boycotting, I just don't use so many things.

    Once the local supermarkets were having a strike and my sister wanted to be sure I wasn't crossing the picket line. I told her I rarely go to a supermarket, just our health food store.

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  5. I'm constantly boycotting brands, though I think it's worth noting that if you're going to boycott, send an email and let them know you're doing so and why. they're unlikely to notice that single drop in sales, but at least if you send them a message directly it'll get sent to their marketing teams. I'm boycotting Bonds at the moment because they're affiliated with Sarah Murdoch, and presently I think she's disgusting because she was involved with that stupid modelling program that recently had all their models wearing fur, even when one of the girls protested wearing it.

    I'm trying to cut down on 'mainstream' brands and switch to brands that are actively natural/enviro friendly, so Dove has already been weaned from my shopping list in favour of Trilogy, but I'll be sharing that info with friends - word of mouth is amazing these days.

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  6. It's funny, but despite their campaigns I don't buy Dove. Don't really like the products. And I wouldn't buy Lynx in a pink fit. But then, I'm not the target market for that advertising campaign... I think you're right, though, it's a good idea to have an overview of any particular company's product range. Otherwise you can be giving with one hand, and taking away with the other.

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  7. I did the weheartlife thing over the weekend...But I did not do the pics, just wrote up the three things I liked about my body! It was more difficult than I expected.

    this is a very interesting post...I have liked the DOVE campaign but I don't really buy their products...Not sure why

    I did not know the same company owned Lynx as well

    I used to boycott products and companies a lot...I wrote for an environmental group and the information coming at me on a regular basis made me begin to wonder if ANY products are ethically OK to buy!

    Proctor and Gamble were a company I avoided as they tested on animals...And they own so many products...!

    Well done for highlighting such a worthwhile subject

    Gill xo

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  8. I don't buy either of them.
    I just watched the clip and was astounded at all the messages we receive everyday. 'How to look younger' etc and all I thought about was my daughter.

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