Dove Used A Very Weird Gimmick To Celebrate Body Diversity, Leaving Everyone Very Confused

To its credit, Dove, maker of soap and beauty products, has worked very hard to thwart any unrealistic or unhealthy body representations on its behalf. In recent ad campaigns, the company has forgone Photoshop, tricky lighting, and waifish models in favor of “real” people using its products in real(ish) settings. It’s an admirable tact, but its latest move seems to have gotten away from the company. And the public as well.

The company announced yesterday that it would be deviating from its traditional, uh, bottle-shaped bottles to offer an array of bottle shapes (all presumably containing the same amount of product) to celebrate the diversity of bodies. Instead of receiving an anticipated slow-clap from its progressive customers, the effort, dubbed Real Beauty Bottles, was met with befuddlement for two reasons. First of all, it’s kind of a weird “celebration,” and secondly, the body types represented by these bottles are...strange.

Dove

It’s unclear if the intent is to offer customers a bottle shape that matches their own body or if they’re supposed to reach for a bottle different than their own body because, hey, diversity, but it didn’t take long for the internet to do what it does best: mock the missteps of a large corporation.

Then there’s Jezebel’s savagely blunt criticism:

It’s unlikely this gaffe will sink the company or dissuade it from continuing the admirable (on paper at least) Real Beauty campaign, but it serves as an entertaining reminder that good intentions won’t necessarily excuse a really bad idea.