The cosmetic brand Dove is well known for its commitment in favour of ‘real beauty’, to only portraying what is real, true and accurate for women and beauty, and to never present the unachievable, manipulated, flawless images of ‘perfect’ beauty, which the use of retouching tools can promote. The brand takes a new step, with the launch of a ‘No Digital Distortion Mark’.
Women globally have lost faith in what they are viewing. 77 percent believe that all images in the media have been digitally altered or airbrushed.
69 percent of women cite increasing pressures from advertising and media to reach an unrealistic standard of beauty as a key force in driving appearance anxiety.
‘When content in the media is not reflective of reality, it has a profound negative effect on the viewer,’ says Jess Weiner, Cultural Expert and Adjunct Professor at University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School of Journalism. ‘By viewing unrealistic and unachievable beauty images it creates an unattainable goal which leads to feelings of failure. This is especially true of young girls who have grown up in a world of filters and airbrushing.’
It is in this context that Dove launches its ‘No Digital Distortion Mark’. It will be incorporated into all static imagery showcasing women, across print, digital and social and will represent that the image is not distorted. Its ambition is to help women and girls navigate the media landscape letting them know that the image they see has not been digitally distorted to fit the ideals of what beauty is and isn’t.
‘Last year, we pledged to use images with zero digital distortion,’ says Dove Global Vice President, Sophie Galvani. ‘This year, we want to go one step further and give women a tool to help them understand what is real and what isn’t. The Mark will take help women identify reality and relieve some of the pressure to look a certain way. We are hoping more brands join us in this movement, as this commitment needs to be widespread.’
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