Dove picks `real' women for ads

[London] Unilever rejected perfect models in favor of women with ordinary bodies in a controversial print and TV campaign to launch Dove firming products in the U.K. In giant posters by WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, six women, all recruited from the street, wear sensible white underwear and flaunt their curves. The ads are prompting media debate about whether women prefer realistic female images. At Unilever, Dove's all-female team even posed for its own version of the ad. Jo Riley, brand-activation manager for Dove Firming, said, "We know that women are tired of seeing an army of similar-looking size-eight models. We wanted to produce images of real women that were aspirational as well as being attainable." Unilever's research found that 56% of women surveyed said they felt better about themselves when they saw ads featuring women with figures similar to their own.

Dove picks `real' women for ads

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