Brad Starks wrote:
Just checking....are these the ones with the plus size models?

Yeah, should have said so.

Brad Starks wrote:
I love these!

This is a very hot trend in the business. The thought that the "real-person-model" is the next hot concept in the fashion and magazine ads. The casting was the real work done here. Although the women are not your avaerage size 00 high fashion models, they all have real personality and are not afraid to show what they look like with sass and wit....that's really the sexy appel of these shots....these women LOVE what their bodies look like and you can see they feel GREAT!

I was driving in downtown Toronto and just saw these huge bill boards of these women.  Your right they look very comfortable in their skins and do have some sass!

Shyly wrote:
I wish "real" weren't part of the slogan, as though anyone who isn't plus size is fake.  However, I think the fact that they've gotten people talking about size issues and prejudice is a very good thing.  Plus, the girls are cute. 

Totally agree with you Shyly...

That "real" is the only thing that is disturbing to me in that ad campaign.

UdoR wrote:

Totally agree with you Shyly...

That "real" is the only thing that is disturbing to me in that ad campaign.

Thats true. It seems as if the powers that be in the advertising world have to call this type of advertising "real". I guess they realize that the women in these Dove ads represent the majority of what women look like in this world. These ads are proof positive that the idea and concept of "Beauty" and what "Sexy" can be, really has to do with the passion in the eyes and confidence of the model in front of the camera.

These Dove ads are very refreshing though, right! Eventhough these ladies arent model sizes, a few of them are as Austin Powers might say..... "Dead Sexy!"

Brad Starks wrote:

Thats true. It seems as if the powers that be in the advertising world have to call this type of advertising "real". I guess they realize that the women in these Dove ads represent the majority of what women look like in this world. These ads are proof positive that the idea and concept of "Beauty" and what "Sexy" can be, really has to do with the passion in the eyes and confidence of the model in front of the camera.

These Dove ads are very refreshing though, right! Eventhough these ladies arent model sizes, a few of them are as Austin Powers might say..... "Dead Sexy!"

I totally agree...the "real" part is just meant to cater to the masses therefore a very good advertising move on Doves part! LOL!

Light Sketch wrote:

I was driving in downtown Toronto and just saw these huge bill boards of these women.  Your right they look very comfortable in their skins and do have some sass!

The photographer that shot these is named RANKIN and he's from London. he's known for shooting lots of famous types and for really being able to get his subjects relaxed and be playful on set with each other. If you go to the DOVE website you can watch a "behind the scences" video of the photo shoot.

Brad Starks wrote:

The photographer that shot these is named RANKIN and he's from London. he's known for shooting lots of famous types and for really being able to get his subjects relaxed and be playful on set with each other. If you go to the DOVE website you can watch a "behind the scences" video of the photo shoot.

Cool, thanks!

Porchia wrote:

I totally agree...the "real" part is just meant to cater to the masses therefore a very good advertising move on Doves part! LOL!

One of the other great things about this ad is that its also given DOVE a chance to do more than sell soap. Theyve used these ads to simple say: "Beauty and fashion stereotypes are BULL*hit!" Youre as sexy and amazing as you feel! They really make you take a look at weather or not you as a customer are going to buy the same old bull. It's challenging you. They know that the people that see these ad's and like them "Get It" or the Dove customer is hip enough to understand the message.

groupw wrote:
I don't have a problem with the way they are using real. "Unreal" vs "real" can have either positive or negative connotations just at "incredible" compared to "credible".  The current trend in model physique is "unrealistic" for most women.

We can toss around the meaning of "real" just like the definition of "is" a few years ago. It's just words. I enjoy the campaign for what it is...a first step in encouraging the average woman to feel better about herself.

I don't disagree with you, actually.  My reasons for thinking it doesn’t belong have everything to do with how people perceive the campaign.  You may recall when it was first launched, the hue and cry was deafening.  People were writing scathing articles about having to look at the ugly fat women, etc etc.  For every average or plus sized woman who said, “Right on!â€? there were just as many loudly crying, “Ewwww!â€? 

Size bias is rampant in the U.S.  The only way to diminish it is to encourage people to see each other as people, instead of as objects of ridicule and fear and loathing.  This goes in both directions.  I am active in several aspects of size acceptance, and it isn’t unusual for even educated, enlightened fat activists to make the same kinds of sweeping generalizations about slender people that some slender people make about fat people.  I regularly take a beating in the size acceptance communities where I participate for objecting to that kind of talk, because it gets us nowhere.  It may be understandable, but it doesn’t encourage dialogue, and it doesn’t foster change.

While I don’t think Dove is actually saying that someone who isn’t plus size is fake, the implication is nonetheless there, and the inference can be made.  I understand the desire to be emphatic about promoting the idea that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  I just think that it if we’re going to do that, we need to mean it.

Brad Starks wrote:

One of the other great things about this ad is that its also given DOVE a chance to do more than sell soap. Theyve used these ads to simple say: "Beauty and fashion stereotypes are BULL*hit!" Youre as sexy and amazing as you feel! They really make you take a look at weather or not you as a customer are going to buy the same old bull. It's challenging you. They know that the people that see these ad's and like them "Get It" or the Dove customer is hip enough to understand the message.

It is definitely about time the industry realized that and not just the consumers!

Richard Tallent wrote:
Dove is just in it for the money. Fat people use more soap.


(*disclaimer: I have no room to talk...)

ROFLMAO !!!

this one is so disturbingly it becomes funny again You mind, I used to be fat too. Actually, I would still be fat, if it weren't for my stomach condition (my body only absorbs half of my nutrition compared to other people's digestive system) soooooooo, I still feel really close to plus sized people. I haven't seen the ad yet (in Belgium, we have an add with older women and freckled women) but I still think it's a great idea to sensibilize people over weight issues.

OC Girl wrote:
While I applaud Dove for its campaign, I have to point out that the models are still pretty.  They may be plus size but none have cellulite or tan lines or rolls.  While they're on the "fleshier" side, they're all evenly proportioned and don't look bad in their underwear.

Dove may be on the right track, but they still have an image to uphold.

But isn't that healthy? The way that I see it, it doesn't matter what size you are, as long as your body is healthy at the same time. I am very small and thin and according to the BMI chart thingy, I'm underweight. But I'm healthy. I find the same distaste for skinny people that are unhealthy as I do for over weight people that are unhealthy. From the sounds of it, the women in the commercials are women that are healthy in their size, which is what counts to me.

Don't get me wrong, I have had many friends of all sizes that were and are unhealthy. It saddens me to see the results of their unhealthy habits, which they generally attempt to mask heavily through excuses or makeup or by other means. I try to encourage them to be healthier, and at the same time, working on myself to be healthier (my diet is what I as currently working on...). I don't want to end up old and falling apart. If I am half as healthy as my grandmothers at their age, I will be happy!

Electra T wrote:
The girls themselves aren't very attractive to me and I wish they had used plus-models, but i guess that would have defeated the purpose of the campaign. Not everyone is a size 0 true, but does that mean it's appropriate or healthy to conform to the consumers growing waist line? This is so similar to designers making a size 4 into a 2 and a 6 into a 4...I don't think accomadating(sp) is the right choice.

Good point, Electra!  I'm often confused by the mixed media messages we receive.  We hear that at no time in history have we had so much obesity in this country; yet, most women I see on the street (granted, I live in Los Angeles) - and in magazines - look like they haven't eaten since 1972.  So, which is it?  Are we all too fat - or too thin? 

The designer "size shrinkage" you mention is supposed to boost women's confidence (i.e., "I'm a 2, not a 4!").  But you have to wonder how confidence-boosting it is to suggest that being a size 4 is so much WORSE than being a size 2.  A backhanded compliment, maybe :-)?

I like the ads.  It reinforces the message that CONFIDENCE is super sexy...regardless of your size.  That "Cosmo concept" has been bandied about for ages, and from what I've heard from men, confidence DOES make all the difference.  Interesting discussion...with many tangents to it!