Sunday, March 05, 2006

Essay 453


It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.

This could explain the Sybil-like advertising produced for Dove over the past few years.

Following the contrived Super Bowl spot promoting the brand’s alleged concern for girls’ self-esteem, Dove now presents a new campaign for its Calming Night products.

The creative centerpiece is a series of online films featuring Felicity Huffman. Dove has swerved from celebrating real beauty to modeling an Academy Award nominee and Desperate Housewives superstar. Despite her appearance in Transamerica and her marriage to William H. Macy, it would be hard to deny Huffman’s glamorous sex appeal.

Maybe Dove officials believe they satisfied the real beauty initiative by hiring plain-Jane Penny Marshall to direct the webisodes. Marshall could certainly benefit from the miraculous powers of Dove firming lotion.

The films show Huffman interacting with classic TV moms Carol Brady, June Cleaver and Lily Munster. You know, iconic female characters that symbolize the ideal standards. And it’s all served up via high-tech special effects without a semblance of reality.

If this latest effort generates better responses than the real beauty campaign, look for the next Dove billboards with women in underwear to exhibit Teri Hatcher, Nicollette Sheridan and Eva Longoria.

You’ve come a long way, baby.

---------------------------------------------------------------

To view past Dove-inspired rants, start by clicking on the essay title above. Then check out Essays 119, 340 and 373.

No comments: