Courtesy of Dove
Remember Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty? It kicked off in 2004, aiming to increase female self confidence by using “real” women all ages, sizes and backgrounds as models in product ads while funding positive self-esteem organizations like the Girl Scouts and Girls, Inc.If the above image doesn’t spark your memory, their short film, “Evolution,” certainly will.
The 2006 video showcased the disturbingly long process it takes to bring a model’s face from barefaced to advertisement-worthy, and, 11 million Youtube views later, has begotten an online Photoshop police force with blogging lieutenants like Jezebel, The Cut and Photoshop Disasters regularly busting style stalwarts like Ann Taylor, Nordstrom and Ralph Lauren at the airbrushing game.
And now, the saga has come full circle: Dove‘s most recent iteration of the “Real Beauty” campaign has put them in hot water with these same websites.
The beauty giant put out casting call on Craigslist on June 25, soliciting a new crop of real women models. Although the ad has since been taken down (see the full screenshot, below), it stated, “Beautiful arms and legs and face will be shown! Must have flawless skin, no tattoos or scars! Well groomed and clean…nice bodies…naturally fit, not too curvy, not too athletic. Beautiful hair and skin is a must!”
While the ad did also state, “Absolutely no actresses/models or reality show participants or anyone carrying a headshot! Real women only!” Jezebel editors were not convinced.
“Its definition of ‘real women’ (a loathsome term if ever there was one) is fairly narrow and does, in fact, adhere to typical beauty standards. The emphasis on being ‘real’ but also being totally flawless is somewhat hilarious and tragic, in that the entire point of the Dove campaign is to challenge the definition of the word ‘beauty,'” the writer “Hortense” penned on the pop culture website.
But a spokesperson for Dove tells StyleList that the Craigslist posting was an unplanned gaffe, and isn’t indicative of their overall campaign message.
