Dove and ‘Blippi’ develop self-esteem content for preschoolers

In the latest continuation of Dove’s Self-Esteem Project, the Unilever beauty brand partnered with Moonbug’s “Blippi” media franchise to create custom content aimed at preschoolers. The partnership features a robust slate of custom long- and short-form videos, music and resources for parents. Previously, Dove had partnered with Cartoon Network’s “Steven Universe” to create body positivity content aimed at older children. But new research from Dove found that issues of body confidence start as young as 4, with a quarter of girls aged 4-6 saying they dislike something about their body and one-third of girls aged 6 saying they wished they were thinner. Also read: 12 creative campaigns to know about today “Blippi” is a live-action series starring a chipper man, Blippi, and his sidekick Meekah as they sing and play through educational scenarios. The series, which began on YouTube and currently has 21.2 million subscribers on the platform, now amasses more than 1 billion monthly views across YouTube, Netflix, Max, Amazon’s Prime Video and more, and can be viewed in more than 20 languages. A post shared by Blippi (@blippi) Dove’s partnership with “Blippi” includes a 75-minute special, four episodes, nine music videos and 26 YouTube shorts specially curated to start conversations about kids’ bodies and what makes them unique. The special, called “Wonderful Talent Show,” debuts Oct. 11 on Netflix and Prime Video in celebration of International Day of the Girl and the 20th anniversary of Dove’s Self-Esteem Project. Much of the partnership’s creative execution was handled by Moonbug’s “Blippi” team, who would translate the brand’s prompts into ideas that made sense for the show’s audience, said Katelynn Heil, head of brand marketing and franchise strategy for “Blippi.” One music video, “My Body Is Amazing,” shows Blippi and Meekah dancing with two children singing lyrics such as, “My body is amazing from the bottom to the top … it can do a lot.” Research from the University of West England Bristol found that the music video raised body appreciation scores in children aged 4-6. The content collaboration was “different from a lot of our other brand partnerships in the sense that it wasn’t explicit type messaging with an immediate call to action,” said Heil. “This is about how you feel about yourself afterwards, and how you measure a feeling.” “We always make sure that we know what we know about and what we don't know about—we don’t know edu-taiment, and that’s where ‘Blippi’ came in,” said Marcela Melero, chief growth officer for Dove personal care North America and Dove masterbrand. Melero said Dove’s expertise in body care research was critical in the collaboration “because all the materials are clinically proven or validated to impact the self-esteem of kids after they watch the episodes.” In addition to following through on its latest research, Dove’s goal with the partnership is to expand the reach of the Self-Esteem Project, said Melero. Over the past 20 years, Dove’s body education has reached 114 million youths, according to the company, and Melero said it hopes to reach 250 million by 2030. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Dove and ‘Blippi’ develop self-esteem content for preschoolers

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