Dove self-esteem related campaigns are always right on the money. Putting the spotlight exactly on the issues that women face on a regular basis, the brand's advertising initiatives touch the hearts of millions of women every single time. A recent viral video, Real Beauty Sketches proved that women are often their worst critics when it comes to self image and how these distorted views negatively impact their happiness level and the new Dove “Camera Shy” video campaign brings an even more relatable side of the same concept.
Speaking about the purpose of the new campaign, Sharon MacLeod, Dove V.P. of Marketing stated:"We know that women are very self-critical when it comes to their looks and that this can have an impact on self-esteem, confidence and happiness. This study shows that women, who are their own worst beauty critic, have anxiety that stops them from feeling confident in front of the camera and causes them to miss out on capturing important moments in their lives. We want that to change." The statistics Dove Global Research is revealing and saddening: 77% of women are camera shy and cite anxiety and unhappiness with the way they look as the main reason. This goes way beyond the unexpected camera shot.
These limiting believes stop women from capturing life's greatest moments in pictures. According to the research 19% of women do not have photos of a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, 14% of their wedding day and 17% of the birth of a child and more than half of those interviewed, 63% to be exact, have destroyed photos of themselves; digital copies being more than twice as likely to be destroyed. Furthermore, almost 1 out of 3 women have stopped photos being taken or later destroyed photos of a beach holiday, a significant party with friends/family and even their own graduations. With these troublesome statistics in mind, it doesn't come as a surprise that when shown a photo of themselves 55% of the women interviewed described it in negative terms like "unattractive," "ugly," or "too fat''.
Aside from uncovering a part of daily life women feel uncomfortable talking about, the new Dove campaign is also focusing on possible solutions. Dove Global Self-Esteem Ambassador Jess Weiner recommends banning beauty bashing comments from our vocabulary, remembering the massive amount of airbrushing used to create the illusion of flawlessness in the images we see every day, focusing on creating memories and capturing great times rather than on imperfections. Sure, tackling serious self esteem issues will require more than one well targeted campaign, however awareness and acknowledgment are great first steps towards a shift in attitude on a (hopefully) large scale.
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Tips to Look Hot in Photos