Dove Launches the 'No Digital Distortion Mark' - an Initiative to Further Commit to Differentiating Real, True and Accurate Imagery

LONDON, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

NEW Dove Mark makes brand more responsible for depicting women as they are 

Beginning in July 2018, Dove is taking another step in ensuring beauty is a source of confidence and not anxiety with the launch of a 'No Digital Distortion Mark'. The Mark will roll out across all branded content globally beginning in July with deodorant campaigns leading the initiative. By January 2, 2019, the mark will be incorporated into all static imagery showcasing women, across print, digital and social and will represent that the image is not distorted. Dove will be held accountable to only show accurate and genuine portrayals of people, showing them how they are in real life. The ambition of the Mark 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.

Research from the Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report (2016) shows that 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. Brands need to take note of this, since 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."

The Dove 'No Digital Distortion Mark' joins the Self-Esteem Project tools and is a stamp to let everyone know that Dove is firmly committed to its belief of not digitally distorting images and that the women included are 100% as you would see them in real life and 100% beautiful. Established in 2004, the Dove Self-Esteem Project is committed to reaching 40 million young people around the world with body confidence and self-esteem education by 2020. One element of this is education on how to counter the negative influence of media and become more aware and critical of what they see. The Mark will take this further and provide an identifier that will take the guess work out of consuming media, while also encouraging other brands to take action.

"Through the work of the Dove Self-Esteem project, we teach children to question what they see in the media and not to take everything at face value," said Dr. Phillippa Diedrechs, Body Image Expert. "However, the responsibility shouldn't solely be on the viewer. Brands can do more to showcase reality and take this unnecessary pressure away. By doing so, we can have a positive impact on the lives of young girls."

This Mark is a continuation of the Real Beauty Pledge – a recommitment in 2017 to only portraying what is real, true and accurate for women and beauty. It was a public commitment to never present the unachievable, manipulated, flawless images of “perfect” beauty, which the use of retouching tools can promote.

“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 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.”

To learn more about the Dove Self-Esteem Project visit http://www.dove.com/selfesteem.

ABOUT DOVE  

Dove®, manufactured by Unilever, is the No. 1 personal wash brand nationwide. One in every three households uses a Dove® product, which includes beauty bars, body washes, face care, anti-perspirant/deodorants, body mists, hair care, styling aids and Dove® Men+Care™, developed specially for men.  Dove® is available nationwide in food, drug and mass outlet stores.

ABOUT THE DOVE SELF-ESTEEM PROJECT  

Dove has a long-standing commitment to creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, and not anxiety. The Dove Self-Esteem Project (2004), helps the women of tomorrow develop a positive relationship with the way they look, raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential.

So far, we've reached the lives of nearly 30 million young people across 138 countries, making the Dove Self-Esteem Project one of the largest providers of body confidence education in the world. selfesteem.dove.com

ABOUT UNILEVER 

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. It has 169,000 employees and generated sales of €52.7 billion in 2016. Over half (57%) of the company's footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes all over the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry's, Magnum and Lynx.

Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan underpins the company's strategy and commits to:

• Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
• Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030
• Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.

The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. The company's sustainable living brands are growing 50% faster than the rest of the business and delivered more than 60% of the company's growth in 2016.

Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2017 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the seventh year running. Unilever has pledged to become carbon positive in its operations by 2030. For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit http://www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP: http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/

For more information contact:
Kah Yee Teh
+44(0)-7392131561
Edelman
KahYee.Teh@edelman.com