Submitted by EdelmanAgency IPI Score 94/100

Code My Crown

Influencer Marketing

Dove and Edelman created a free 200-page open-source guide teaching game developers how to code Black hair textures, turning a representation gap into a solvable technical problem.

1.8BImpressions
81%Connection with Dove
32%Brand loyalty increase
95%Black gamers positive impact
100%Positive or neutral sentiment
85%Black gamers feeling underrepresented in

About the campaign

Black gamers were systematically underrepresented in video games, especially in the accurate depiction of textured hair, but research by Dove and Edelman across 1,002 gamers and 160 developers in the US and UK reframed the problem: 74 percent of developers said they would help improve representation of textured Black hair if they could learn how to code it. The barrier was capability, not unwillingness, and that insight turned a representation argument into a solvable technical problem.

Rather than run a message-led awareness campaign in a category where a beauty brand has no commercial role, Dove built a tool: Code My Crown, described as the first free guide training game developers to code Black hairstyles and textures. Produced with the Open Source Afro Hair Library and a team of Black 3D artists, animators and programmers, the 200-page downloadable guide combined step-by-step coding instruction, 360-degree photo-mapping, cultural insights and 15 original hair sculpts designed as the foundation for hundreds of virtual styles, released open-source through a dedicated website with a campaign film and social content.

The work extended Dove's two-decade Real Beauty platform and its CROWN Act advocacy into gaming, and won the Business to Business category plus a Gold Honor in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the 9th Shorty Impact Awards; guide adoption figures are not disclosed.

Case in 60 seconds

Black gamers were systematically underrepresented in video games, particularly in the accurate depiction of textured hair, but the barrier was not just attitudinal — developers lacked the knowledge and tools to code it correctly.

Research across gamers and developers in the US and UK found that developers surveyed said they would help promote better representation of textured Black hair if they could learn how to code it, reframing the issue from unwillingness to capability gap.

Rather than run a message-led awareness campaign, Dove and Edelman produced what they describe as the first free guide training game developers to code Black hairstyles and textures, giving a beauty brand a credible, practical role in a category it does not compete in.

Edelman collaborated with the Open Source Afro Hair Library and a team of Black 3D artists, animators and programmers to build a 200-page downloadable guide featuring step-by-step coding instruction, 360-degree photo-mapping and cultural insights, supported by a dedicated website, campaign film and social content.

The campaign won the Business to Business category and earned a Gold Honor in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the 9th Annual Shorty Impact Awards; downstream adoption metrics for the guide are not disclosed in available sources.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Research covered the US and UK, supplemented by in-depth conversations with developers. Key audience facts from the research: 85% of Black gamers felt underrepresented in video games, 48% of gamers are female, 29% are people of color, and 87% of Gen Z play games. The primary activation audience was developers (business-to-business), with Black gamers as the intended beneficiary.
Gaming has become a mainstream, demographically broad medium — 87% of Gen Z play games — yet the industry has been slow to represent all players authentically, particularly in the depiction of textured hair. This sits in tension with growing player expectations for self-expression through avatars.
Dove makes beauty and personal care products and has no product role in game development, making its route to influence in the gaming category indirect. The challenge was finding a credible intervention that did not feel like brand intrusion into a space Dove does not occupy commercially.
Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has run for two decades with a stated mission of making beauty a source of confidence rather than anxiety. The brand had previously built trust with the Black community through its work advancing the CROWN Act, which protects against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles in America. Code My Crown extended that platform into gaming by acting as an enabler for developers rather than a message-sender to consumers.
Developers lacked the tools to represent textured Black hair, not the will, which positioned them as a receptive target for the intervention. This shifted the frame from "the industry doesn't care" to "the industry lacks tools," which opened a practical rather than purely advocacy-based solution.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • 200-page downloadable open-source developer guide (primary asset)
  • Dedicated campaign website
  • Campaign film
  • Social media content
  • Gaming-led activity (details not specified in sources)

Partners

  • Edelman (lead agency)
  • Open Source Afro Hair Library (co-development partner)
  • Black 3D artists, animators and programmers (credited as collaborators in guide production)

Participation mechanic

  • Free guide download open to any game developer
  • Open-source licensing enabling reuse and redistribution by the wider development community

Creator role

  • Black 3D artists, animators and programmers contributed to creating original hair sculpts and coding instruction content
  • No influencer or user-generated content mechanic described in sources

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Black gamers feeling underrepresented in video games85%contextAgency reported
Female gamers (research finding)48%contextAgency reported
Gamers who are people of color (research finding)29%contextAgency reported
Gen Z who play games (research finding)87%contextAgency reported

Awards & Recognition

Award showYearCategoryResultSource
Shorty Impact Awards9th Annual (year not specified in sources)Business to BusinessWinner—
Shorty Impact Awards9th Annual (year not specified in sources)Diversity, Equity & InclusionGold Honor—
Shorty Impact Awards9th Annual (year not specified in sources)Business to Business — Audience HonorAudience Honor—

Why Edelman's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Converting a representation argument into a practical tool gave a brand outside the gaming category a credible, durable reason to act. Edelman reframed the problem from an awareness issue to a solvable technical one, which is harder to dismiss as brand virtue-signalling.

  2. 2

    Developers said they would help if taught to code textured hair, anchoring the campaign in that finding meant the guide addressed a stated need rather than an assumed one, giving the business-to-business audience a reason to engage.

  3. 3

    Open-sourcing the guide extended its useful life beyond a campaign window and invited reuse by the wider development community, giving the asset value independent of Dove's media spend.

  4. 4

    Dove's prior credibility with the Black community through CROWN Act advocacy gave the brand standing to enter the gaming conversation rather than appearing as an opportunistic interloper.

  5. 5

    Pairing quantitative research scale with in-depth qualitative conversations gave the research both breadth and lived-experience context, making the problem harder to dismiss as anecdotal.

  6. 6

    Targeting developers (business-to-business) rather than only consumers created a multiplier: equipping people who shape games means any adoption has ongoing impact across future titles rather than a one-time consumer-facing moment.

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