Real Beauty

The ad which I chose is the Dove Evolution commercial. This ad promotes the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls which is a campaign to improve self-esteem among young women. The commercial begins with a young woman being seated to have a make-over. The commercial then speeds up as makeup is applied to her face and her hair is being styled with a piano being played at a fast pace in the background. As the lights are flashing in her face, one can tell that snapshots are being taken of her. After this, she is shown as a computer image and most of her features are altered in editing. The camera zooms out to show her face is on a billboard and the music slowly fades out. The commercial fades to black and the statement “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” appears. This fades out and the words “Take part in the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls”. The ad creates desire through visual and aural means. How this ad creates desire through visual means is the situation is taking place in a modern, stylish setting. The music, the way it is edited and shot, and the modernity used in the ad is appealing to the viewer. At first the commercial is really interesting and makes the viewer want to become a part of this world yet toward the end of the ad, the viewer’s mind is blown as it ends nothing like the way they would expect it to. It is an eye opener. This commercial makes one want to accept themselves for who they are. The Dove Evolution commercial portrays modernity and convinces the viewer to accept them self the way they are and not lower them self to the standards of society.



The viewer is drawn into this world as the ad takes place in a photo shoot. The setting is stylish and fashionable. The movements of the makeup artists speed up and fast piano music plays. This evokes a trendy, cutting edge feeling to the ad. It is fast paced. Lights are flashing as snapshots are taken of the woman. It is a world of edge and high fashion. The ad is advanced as technology is used to alter her appearance. The Dove Evolution commercial evokes modernity. The commercial is up and coming. It is fresh and up to date. This commercial also opens the viewer’s eyes. It begins as a trendy, fashionable idea and ends with a profound statement which makes the audience think. The woman’s features are changed through editing and after this, her face is put on a billboard. The viewer can see that her face is fake. Her picture on the billboard is not who she really is. This might make a viewer believe that society has the wrong conception of beauty. The commercial wants to paint an image of what real beauty is. Real beauty is not superficial and edited to change someone’s features. It is accepting one for who they are.






The Dove Commercial: Onslaught follows this same phenomenon. The commercial shows an innocent, little girl in the first scene with the song “La Breeze” by Simian playing in the background. The lyrics “Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes” gradually get louder and the scene switches to pictures of models in lingerie. The commercial then shows ads on television with beauty products to make one look younger, smaller, lighter, fuller, tighter, thinner, or softer. The Dove Commercial: Onslaught also shows women going through the procedures of plastic surgery. By the end of the commercial, the words “talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does” appear. This commercial also promotes real beauty and shows how today’s culture has a warped perception of beauty. It is important to educate young minds and tell them the truth about beauty before society infiltrates their minds.



This ad addresses the standards of the world and how women should not have to lower themselves to fit in. It shows how essential it is that women accept themselves for who they are and not try to be something that they are not. Today’s culture puts pressure on women to look a certain way. This commercial shows that it is significant to teach young minds that they do not have to fit into the mold of the world to be beautiful, but that they are beautiful if they accept them self for who they are.



The state of these two ads show how distorted society’s conception of beauty is. The culture of today teaches people lies and transforms them into something they are not. These ads show the desperation for people to be loved and accepted. They show the heights that people will go to to feeling secure. Society embraces beauty as something that is superficial. The kind of beauty it encompasses is fake. One must look a certain way to be accepted. What these commercials are at large trying to tell people is to not follow the norms of society but understand that one is truly beautiful if they accept them self for who they are.

Rachel Marten
TA: Steve Wetzel