In a time when we have television networks being fined for over-the-top sex advertisements and unfortunate costume malfunctions, it is a breath of fresh air to find altruistic commercials like the Dove: Self Esteem commercial played during the 2006 Super Bowl. Before I continue, take a look for yourself.
As a consumer, I am impressed with Dove’s uplifting commercial for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. We are all quite aware that advertisements are meant to sell a product, but watching Dove’s self-esteem commercial lets us forget that for a moment. Dove’s commercial allows us to concentrate on nobler causes, such as helping one another to overcome low self-esteem, develop self-love and develop love for others.
The Dove: Self Esteem commercial begins with beautiful, unsmiling, young girls who all seem to have low self-esteem. Thoughts like “hates her freckles“, “thinks she’s ugly“, “wishes she were blonde“, and “afraid she’s fat” are sprinkled throughout the beginning of the commercial to represent the way many young girls see themselves. This creative approach draws the audience in while opening up their hearts in preparation for Dove’s message.
The lyrics from the song “True Colors”, “Show me a smile then, don’t be unhappy. Can’t remember when I last saw you laughing. If this world makes you crazy and you’ve taken all you can bear, you call me up, because you know I’ll be there.” play throughout the beginning of the commercial, adding a beautiful, yet melancholy atmosphere. Dove’s use of the song, “True Colors”, encourages the audience to empathize with the young girls in the commercial as well as all young girls who are experiencing such low self-esteem.
Midway through the Dove: Self-Esteem commercial, you see the message “let’s change their minds“. This powerful message marks a change in the mood of Dove’s commercial and allows the audience to feel more hopeful. Immediately following that message, the tempo of the song, “True Colors”, picks up and we are quickly introduced to smiling and dancing young girls. We, the audience, know these young girls now feel much better about themselves.
The next segment of the Dove: Self-Esteem commercial introduces the message “We’ve created the dove self-esteem fund because every girl deserves to feel good about herself and see how beautiful she really is.” The audience now hears about Dove’s efforts to change the unhealthy way many young girls and women see themselves. The audience finds itself listening to and supporting Dove’s message.
During the second half of the Dove: Self-Esteem commercial, we hear more uplifting lyrics from the song “True Colors”: “I see your true colors shining through. I see your true colors and that’s why I love you. So, don’t be afraid to let them show. You’re beautiful like a rainbow.” “Like a rainbow” is a powerful message that Dove uses to encourage the audience to reconsider the definition of real beauty. A rainbow is made up of many different colors that result in a magnificent, and widely accepted, representation of beauty. The audience gets the message and what a beautiful, and profound, message it is.
At the end of the Dove: Self-Esteem commercial, we see the message “help us – get involved at campaignforrealbeauty.com”, which Dove hopes will motivate the audience to visit Dove’s website to see what they are doing to bring about change in this crucial campaign. In my opinion, this is one of the best commercials shown during the 2006 Super Bowl because it tries to do more than just sell a product. Never forget, however, that commercials are about making money and with this Dove commercial, Dove builds customer loyalty with its tasteful and competent handling of the low self-esteem issue. The Dove: Self-Esteem commercial sells an idea that is valuable to our society.
Reference:
- Dove’s 2006 Super Bowl Self-Esteem Commercial
