Have you ever stopped and wondered what beauty really is? Well, frankly, there should be no definition for this term. Although… there’s an expression — which you’re most probably aware of — that, somehow, explains what this trait is about: “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.” However, with so many “norms” and “standards” promoted in the media, the beholder might see beauty through a series of harmful filters: flat stomach, smooth skin, or perfect teeth.

Sure, anyone has the right to see beauty on their own terms but it becomes a problem when these filters start to negatively influence the way we see ourselves. This makes us believe that beauty is in the eye of the holder as well, whose perceptions of the way they look might change because of the toxic beauty suggestions that are constantly delivered on their feeds.

According to the Unilever-owned company Dove, 2 in 3 girls in the US are spending more than an hour on social media daily. 1 in 2 confess that idealized beauty content on these platforms impacts the way they think of themselves, causing low self-esteem. Simultaneously, 80% of these teens admit that would like to be helped by their parents when it comes to managing such posts, while 7 in 10 agree that unfollowing idealized beauty content on social media makes them feel better. As part of the research, the brand concluded that spending less time browsing social media and being pickier with the content they follow can contribute to combating this phenomenon that impacts teen girls’ self-esteem.

Alongside its creative partner Ogilvy, Dove has launched the #DetoxYourFeed campaign, an initiative through which the brand targets teen girls hoping to inspire them to detox their social media feeds. To launch the campaign, part of The Dove Self-Esteem Project, Dove released a short film having as protagonists real mothers and daughters. Invited to have a chat about social media and sitting in front of a big screen, the duos start to watch the content the teens usually stumble upon while spending time on these platforms. At first, these beauty hacks are delivered by influencers but the situation unexpectedly changes, as a very familiar face takes over and continues to suggest toxic beauty tips to the teens…

Wow, right?

Using deep fake technology, the influencers who are now recommending their daughters to use Botox, replace meals with some sort of “magical” powders, or undergo a dental procedure to improve their smiles are, in fact, their mothers. So why this strategy? Why are moms the ones to present their daughters with such toxic beauty hacks? Because “[they] wouldn’t say that to [their] daughter.” Yet, such content fills the teens’ social feeds each day.

Daniel Fisher, Global ECD, Unilever and Special Projects and Member of Ogilvy’s Worldwide Creative Council, said: “I’m extremely proud of this piece of work and of all the teams from across the Ogilvy network who helped bring it to life. The kind of toxic beauty advice that girls today are getting exposed to on social media is heart-breaking and I only hope that this work kickstarts the conversations that we all need to be having.”

Aimed at sparking necessary conversation between parents, caregivers, and teens on this theme, the campaign empowers young people to define beauty in terms that make them feel comfortable, unfollow anything that puts pressure on them to look perfect, and turn their feeds into a positive environment.

“We’ve identified a clear problem that is eroding the self-esteem of our girls and needs immediate attention and action. We created this #DetoxYourFeed campaign to not only raise awareness around the insidious nature of toxic beauty advice but to also help parents navigate tough conversations and empower teens to unfollow content that makes them feel bad about themselves,” explained Leandro Barreto, Global Vice President of Dove. “While it may be a bit overwhelming at times, we hope it will contribute to important conversations that lead to a more positive experience for teens on social media.”

To support the parents throughout this experience, Dove has developed a series of tools and resources they can use to open a conversation around this topic with their children and learn how to empower teens to have a social media detox. Besides the “Detox Your Feed: The Parents Guide” film and “The Confidence Kit,” parents can learn how to fight toxic influence on teens’ social feeds by attending the Dove Real Talk Parent workshop virtual event, held on May 12th. Additionally, some inspiring voices will help them better navigate through this dialogue.

Credits:

Client: Dove

Global Dove, Executive Vice President: Alessandro Manfredi

Global Brand Vice President, Dove Masterbrand: Leandro Barreto

Global Brand Director, Dove Masterbrand: Edoardo Briola

Global Brand Manager, Dove Masterbrand: Leslie Golts

Global Assistant Brand Manager, Dove Masterbrand: Amalie Thompson

Global Brand Director Digital, Dove Masterbrand: Zoe Eungblut

Senior Global Digital Manager, Dove Masterbrand: Juliette Crouzet-Mertens

Agency: Ogilvy

Global Executive Creative Director (Unilever) & Special Projects: Daniel Fisher

Global Creative Director: Francesco Grandi

Copywriter: Phil Gull

Art Director: Helen Giles

Design Lead, Integrated: Sian Hughes

Global Client Lead: Jo Bacon

Global Managing Partner: Sam Pierce

Global Business Director: Georgie Howard

Global Account Director: Carmen Vicente Soto

Digital Account Manager: Olivia White

Project Manager: Katie Morrell

Project Manager: Zahra Mair

Head of Integrated Production (Unilever): James Brook-Partridge (Hogarth WW)

Lead Senior Film Producer: Stephanie Warner

Senior Film Producer: Sally Miller (Hogarth WW)

Assistant Producer: George Ward

Assistant Producer: Eva McAlpine (Hogarth WW)

Senior Art Producer: Chloe Jahanshahi

Chief Strategy Officer: Ben Kay (WPP, London)

Strategy Partner: Ila De Melloa Kamath

Strategist: Yolanda Davis

 

Production Partners

Production: Smuggler

Managing Director: Fergus Brown

Director: Henry-Alex Rubin

Producer: Ray Leakey

Talent Liaison: Katie Uhlmann

Line Producer (Soft Citizen): Andrew Sullivan

Director of Photographer: Gabriela Osio Vanden

 

Casting: Milo Casting

Casting Director: Stephen Milo C.D.C.

Casting Research Manager: Taijah Hinds-Rowe

 

Editing: TenThree

Edit Producer: Julian Marshall

Editor: Ellie Johnson

2nd Editor: Iain Whitewright

Assistant Editor: Elyse Raphael

 

Post Production: Absolute

Executive Producer: Sally Heath

Senior Producer: Kirsty Ratcliffe

Assistant Producer: Maddie Godsill

Production Assistant: Shaun Wilding

Senior Colourist: Matt Turner

Colourist: Juliette Wileman

Creative Director: Jonas McQuiggin

Online: Joseph Wolfenden-Williams

2D Artist: Jasmine Cooper, Antonio Jimenez, James Russell, Av Bains, Simon Holden, Ben Robards, Chris Tobin

 

Deepfake Technology: Synthesia c/o Hogarth WW

Primary Production Senior Producer: Titus Scurt

 

Audio: 750mph

Sound Engineer: Michalis Anthis

Producer: Aishah Amodu

 

Music: Hanan Townshend – Composer

 

Photographer: Caitlin Cronenberg

Producer: Natalie Frenkel

 

Colour Correction: Sipke Visser – Retoucher (Frisian)