Okay, we all have seen those Dove commercials that have been running for a few years in the US that show plain-jane looking women extolling their inner beauty. This marketing campaign for Dove Soap is called “Campaign for Real Beauty” and even I have fallen for the slick commercials that tell young girls that the things they see on TV and in magazines. AND THE MESSAGE IS A GOOD ONE: Real beauty is not what the media portray it as. People should be happy with what they have. Everyone is beautiful, in their own way...

Probably the most famous ad is the one where a regular woman is made up into a supermodel in a time-lapsed video sequence:

the most recent one shows a young girl being bombarded by media images:

Okay, so bravo to Dove soap. We get it.

But if we lived in Japan, the message would be a bit different:

Apparently, in Japan, it is okay to be really good looking, airbrushed, made up etc. Not in the US. Okay..

But Unilever also makes AXE, which has commericals like these:

So, apparently, it is okay for GIRLS to get the message that they need to rely on inner beauty, but boys can get the really hot girls if they use some Axe.

Nice.

So, I know a lot of you have played the Evolution video for classes. Maybe, you can do a nice lesson in comparing and contrasting media messages FROM THE SAME COMPANY.

Thanks Unilever. Here is a picture from your English language  product homepage:

Inner beauty. Eat my ice cream bar and hot babes will pay attention to you.

Just like real life.