Dove soap’s European-wide "Campaign for Real Beauty" has taken on a
local twist in Düsseldorf, Germany. The people next door at the local
Ogilvy & Mather office have not only sold their souls to their
client, but their bodies as well. These local posters are being used in
conjunction with the real "Real" campaign and placed on bus stop
shelters. The headline reads: "They’re not models, just soft Dove admen from Ogilvy Düsseldorf."
if I understood what was said about it on Brutal women, those are, in
fact, the ad execs who came up with the dove "real women" campaign. the
specific guys, which is why they aren't models: they aren't, they're ad
execs
These men are perfectly average-looking
white-collar white dudes, but unlike the women in the ad, they're OLD.
And they're clearly not models, which the women in the original ad
obviously are -- you know, gorgeous features, perfect skin, no
cellulite, perfectly proportioned. The equation breaks down there.
Again, what's the point? And why didn't they find younger
average-looking dudes?
I'm all for something that makes fun of the squeamish dorks who
complain about the Dove ads in the subway (although I also don't pass
judgment on anyone's sexual preferences -- a man is allowed to be
attracted only to skinny women if that's his thing). But this parody
doesn't do the trick -- it's too muddled. As many have said here, these
guys seem cute and likeable -- so how does this work as parody? What
statement is it making?
