The campaign is a global effort by the soap manufacturer at widening the definition of beauty and declaring every woman's innate capacity to be beautiful.



I am not surprised that the Dove commercial has won the world's most prestigious advertising award --- the Grand Prix for viral marketing at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

The video, if you have watched it, shows a close-up of a seemingly unattractive woman, shot in harsh lights that call attention to her uneven skin tone, lopsided eyes, dull, listless hair; and not to forget, unhappy facial expression.

Then in mere twenty seconds, as the video rolls, makeup artists and hair stylists turn her into a wide-eyed, big-haired beauty with sculpted cheeks and perfect skin. And, that's just the beginning!

Next comes the digital transformation. A designer points-and-clicks on the model's photo, giving her a longer, slimmer neck, a slightly narrower upper face, fuller lips, bigger eyes, and more space between her eyebrows and eyes. The perfected image rises to fill a billboard and the punch line reads: "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted."

The video, I am told, attracted over three million reviews on YouTube.

Does this convey that like the rest of the genetic lottery, beauty is unfair? Everyone falls short of perfection, but some are luckier than others? No, because, "real confidence" (and in my opinion, real beauty) writes magazine editor Virginia Postrel in The Truth About Beauty in the Atlantic Monthly, March, 2007, requires self-knowledge, which includes recognizing one's shortcomings as well as one's strengths.

"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself," said Anais Nin, who added that "Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat."

Author of French Women Don't Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano recalls in an interview to Ellen Kanner, "I was waiting for a flight in Chicago's O'Hare, where everyone was busy multitasking --- walking, speaking into their cell phones, bunching over laptops, all the while cramming airport faux food into their mouths --- and no one looked happy!" This surprised the celebrated author because what she had been taught in her culture is that when you eat that fast, you cannot derive full pleasure out of what you are eating. Food, in that case, is not food for your soul; it's just fuel for your body and that is not the way the French relish their food and everything else in life. My belief is that French women see beauty as an inner perception outwardly manifested in our attitudes.

So, recognize that only you can create your own world ? by simply believing in your own beauty!

Copyright (c) 2007 MMC Lifestyles, LLC, dba MMC Style