Dove Real Beauty Productions
Edelman built Real Beauty Productions with Shonda Rhimes for Dove, turning submissions from over 4,000 real women into three all-female-crewed films that earned +3.3 billion earned media impressions.
Case in 60 seconds
Dove entered its 60th year wanting to move its real beauty commitment from brand policy into industry change, which was hard because the film industry the brand wanted to influence was one it did not control or employ.
The campaign appears to turn on the finding Edelman cites from the Geena Davis Institute, that women behind the camera correlate with as much as 10 percent more screen and speaking time for women, so changing who makes the work changes what audiences see.
Rather than making another film about real beauty, Dove co-created a production company, Real Beauty Productions, with Shonda Rhimes, so that the commitment was expressed as who was hired and whose stories were told.
An announcement film in March 2017 drove women to DoveRealBeauty.com to submit stories, with the social call timed to ABC's #TGIT lineup; three films made by a 100 percent female crew followed, previewed to over 800 digital influencers at the Mom 2.0 Summit with a Julianna Margulies keynote, carried through paid social by director Liz Garbus and Emmy nominees Samira Wiley and Uzo Aduba, and closed with a 60 second Emmys spot.
Edelman reports submissions from +4,000-real women and +3.3 billion earned media impressions with more than +26.6MM views, a 99% positive conversation rate, 98% editorial coverage as feature stories and 100% share of voice, with brand favorability lift of Film #2 - +1.7% and Film #3 - +3.1%.
Strategy Breakdown
The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.
Creative & Execution System
Assets & channels
- DoveRealBeauty.com
- Television
- YouTube
Partners
- Edelman (lead_agency)
Participation mechanic
- Women were asked to head to DoveRealBeauty.com to share personal stories that widen the definition of beauty, and those submissions fed the three films.
Creator role
- Julianna Margulies — creator
- Liz Garbus — creator
- Samira Wiley — creator
- Shonda Rhimes — creator
- Uzo Aduba — creator
Results & Evidence
| Metric | Value | Result type |
|---|---|---|
| brand favorability lift | Film series featured women who don't fit the mold of stereotypical beauty as usually seen in ads, which resonated with Millennial women and increased Brand Favorability lift: Film #2 - +1.7%, Film #3 - +3.1% | brand_lift |
| positive conversation rate | 99% positive conversation rate | performance |
| share of editorial coverage that were feature stories | 98% editorial coverage were feature stories | performance |
| share of voice in coverage | 100% share of voice in coverage owned by Dove | performance |
| story submissions from women | Generated submissions from +4,000-real women | performance |
| views | Garnered +3.3 billion earned media impressions across national media, with more than +26.6MM views | video_views |
Why Edelman's strategy worked
- 1
Hiring as the message appears to be what made the work land, because a 100 percent female crew gave journalists a verifiable production fact to report rather than a brand claim to relay, which reads as one reason 98% editorial coverage were feature stories.
- 2
Borrowing a partner's audience calendar rather than buying one seems to have carried the call for submissions, since timing the Shonda Rhimes social ask to ABC's #TGIT lineup reached her fan base at the hour they were already gathered.
- 3
Sequencing industry insiders in front of the films, the Mom 2.0 preview and the Julianna Margulies keynote before the Liz Garbus, Samira Wiley and Uzo Aduba paid social play, suggests the conversation was seeded within the film business before it was pushed at consumers.
- 4
Asking women to submit their own stories rather than casting them appears to have supplied both the content and the proof of demand, because +4,000-real women submitting is itself an argument that the definition of beauty in advertising is too narrow.