London International Awards
2023 Winners and Finalists
Finalist
Online Film
Corporate Purpose/Social Responsibility
| Entrant: | Ogilvy India, Mumbai |
| Brand: | Dove Mumbai, India |
| Title: | "The Beauty Report Card #StopTheBeautyTest" |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Hindustan Unilever |
| Vice President - Beauty and Well Being India, Dove Masterbrand India: | Harman Dhillon |
| Global Brand Director : | Lipsa Das |
| Marketing Manager: | Nithya Komanduri |
| Brand Associate : | Vaishali Singh |
| Creative Controller: | Akshay Ordiya |
| Agency: | Ogilvy India, Mumbai |
| Chief Creative Officers: | Harshad Rajadhyaksha/Kainaz Karmakar/Sukesh Nayak |
| Senior Executive Creative Director: | Zenobia Pithawalla |
| Executive Creative Director: | Mihir Chanchani |
| Senior Creative Director: | Vishal Rajpurkar |
| Associate Creative Director: | Rishabh Thapar |
| Copywriters: | Harshad Rajadhyaksha/Kainaz Karmakar/Zenobia Pithawalla, Mihir Chanchani |
| Vice Chairperson and Chief Client Officer India: | Hephzibah Pathak |
| Executive Vice President, Planning: | Abigail Dias |
| Executive VPs - Account Management : | Walter Noronha/Vineet Singh |
| Agency Chief Strategy Officer: | Prem Narayan |
| Agency Account Executive: | Vyigin Fotedar |
| Agency Account Supervisor: | Bhavya Dwivedi |
| Agency Account Director: | Sanam Chowdhry |
| Agency Planning Director: | Tanvi Mishra |
| Director: | Amit Sharma |
| Producer: | Abhishek Notani |
Description:
The campaign to #StopTheBeautyTest began with a film that featured the real stories of 5 teenage girls who faced beauty-based judgement and were brave enough to share their stories with the world.
Their first-hand experiences became eye-openers for an otherwise desensitized audience for whom the ‘beauty test’ was so normalized that they failed to consider the emotional impact it had on young girls.
By challenging beauty stereotypes, Dove campaigned for a more inclusive definition of beauty and calls to end a cruel practice that is responsible for women’s beauty anxieties and diminished self-worth.
For most Indian women that grow up in traditional households – beauty has always had a singular purpose – to make them suitable brides. Getting the girl married is the responsibility and burden of her family.
However, there is a power dynamic at play, where the power to reject a match predominantly rests with the groom’s family.
The girl’s appearance plays a big role in her acceptance or rejection. If she does not meet beauty standards, prospective grooms demand a higher dowry – which is a payment made by the girl’s family at the time of her marriage.
While payment of a dowry is illegal in India, it is still widely practised under the guise of religion, tradition and customs. This pressure results in conditioning that begins in adolescence.
Young girls are groomed to look a certain way to find acceptance. Because, if she doesn’t, she becomes a burden to the family.
The campaign targeted urban women, aged 18-40 years. This segment was sized at 70 million households pan India. Although they came from different cultural, religious, and educational backgrounds, there was one thing they had in common: Most of them would have faced some form of the ‘beauty test’ as a teenager.
The campaign strategy worked to deliver on the campaign objectives by: • Provoking Conversations: By getting people to question ‘beauty test’ that has been normalized in homes and schools. • Inspiring Change: By getting more women to share their stories and inspire other women and society at large to change. • Triggering action: By creating better alternatives and arming young girls with the tools they need to build their self-esteem and confidence.