So much for Dove’s wonderful campaign for real beauty. Yes, we loved it too. Until someone pointed out that Dove=Unilever=Axe. Then the wheels fell right off that train. First, enjoy “Onslaught” as rendered by Dove’s creative team:
OK cool, they’re hep to social media. And, there have been some hilarious send-ups of Evolution, the first Dove video. So, let’s see what UGC mashups evolve this time, eh? Oh, OOOPS:
Best part? This supposedly hip-to-social-media company, have they responded? Have they said something responsible like “oh hey, good point. We’re going to restrict when our ads run so girls and young women are less likely to get this shitty message from us.” Not to my knowledge. Am I wrong?
If Unilever doesn’t care because “the Axe demographic won’t really care,” which is a reasonable argument, then what the hell about the whole demographic the Dove campaign is aimed at. Because Axe’s images of women are far, far worse than those used in the original “Onslaught” video.
And, hooray to CNN for picking up this story recently:
Unilever’s response: the Axe commercials are meant to be a spoof and not taken seriously. Oh yeah, right.
Tuesday, July 17th “The Blogosphere” picks it up and runs with it. Shout-out to this ABCNews blog for the first TV-related pickup. (Hmm, too bad ABC producers don’t even read your “own” blog?)
OMG, my heart goes out to the parents of those screaming babies. I would have clawed through the emergency exit door. As much as it sucked for the other passengers, the parents (and, well, the children)… that’s just a special ring of hell.
Dear corporations with lousy customer service,
Your Base Are All Belong to Us.
Carry on however you like, but don’t come crying to us when your colossal bad moves turn up on CNN. Go ahead, keep heckling your customers. We could all use a good laugh.
