Dove: Inspiring Confidence for All Bodies

Repositioning an iconic brand away from a harmful industry towards a bold, inclusive vision.

Project:

SVA Masters in Branding 2024 Thesis: “Engendering”

Role:

Strategist, Creative Director, Researcher, Project Manager

Team:

Natalie Marques, Gloria Biggers, Sarah Fassberg

Advisors:

Dr. Dan Formosa, Natalia Formosa, Shrutika Manivannan

Context
The SVA Masters in Branding thesis project requires candidates to analyze, evaluate, and reposition brands that have fallen out of step with culture or have a great opportunity to make a leap forward. The focus of the 2024 thesis was “Engendering:” an investigation into typically gendered brands and arenas and how they are currently reflecting — or failing to reflect — gender.

The Challenge
Question the existing legacy systems of the Dove brand to unearth opportunities that can solve brand, societal, community and personal challenges.

The Solution
Reposition Dove from a brand that builds self-esteem for women through beauty to a brand that inspires body confidence for all bodies. To demonstrate this commitment, Dove will make a bold declaration and exit the beauty industry.

Despite Dove’s efforts to transform physical appearance from a source of anxiety to a source of confidence, according to the brand’s own 2024 study, the beauty industry continues to be a source of anxiety and trauma, particularly for those who are in minority groups.

Dove’s current product offerings also reflect and reinforce a gender binary; the introduction of the Dove Men+Care line in 2010, while commercially successful, has muddled the brand’s positioning on real beauty with messaging on making men feel strong. But this binary is no longer as rigid as it once was, with 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+. Dove’s product offerings and positioning must now evolve to meet the needs of this new consumer group.

This will include stripping the word “beauty” from all products and messaging, and reintroducing the Campaign for Real Beauty as the Campaign for All Bodies. Dove will now promote self-acceptance through the idea of embodiment, the experience of living and being in the body, and inhabiting the full spectrum of being a human. Provocative creative will ignite conversation about the beauty industrial complex and the binaries it perpetuates.

This bold new positioning will be brought to life in an equally bold new product line that exists outside of the binary of man | woman, strong | beautiful. Dove’s key competitors in the personal care category market their products specifically to women or men at an accessible price point. Several brands are marketed as gender-neutral, with a lack of gender signifiers, while others are "genderful," and celebrate the spectrum of gender.

Up until now, these brands have been limited to the prestige market; there is a white space for Dove to enter and capture new consumers at an accessible, mass market price point.

The line will be introduced with three new multi-purpose products to Dove’s portfolio: A silky oil that can be used on the skin and hair, a gentle moisturizing SPF cream that will protect the face and body, and a soothing balm for dry skin and lips, which will be infused with vitamin E to support the healing of scars. All Embody products will be formulated with base notes that mimic the aroma of skin and enhance each wearer’s personal scent. 

The Results
Our team was selected for the first slot of the Class of 2024 Thesis Presentation, and successfully delivered and defended our thesis on July 12, 2024.

Watch a video of the full presentation here: