So what is the sauce? The flavour that takes your marketing campaign from a simple brief to a brilliant, buzzworthy and noteworthy campaign.
I did some research and from a lot of the marketing campaigns that end up winning awards and being featured in Ads of the year or Campaigns of the year lists, there’s 5 things that stood out –
- Collaboration
- Using data insights effectively
- Authenticity
- Cultural relevance
- Innovation
The one campaign that stood out for me, was firmly rooted in authenticity. Dove has over the recent years managed to own a conversation that was always there, and more importantly, they found a way to integrate and build on it for their brand, and it works.
Think for a second, if you’ve seen their campaigns and know what they have done in the last 5 years, how often do you think of Dove when in a conversation about real beauty? Powerful.
The Dove Marketing Campaign
Dove’s #TurnYourBack campaign has clear and powerful message for social media users: Step away from the filters.
If you’ve ever been on TikTok or any image driven social media platform, you’ve seen some sort of beutifying filter. Dove says these perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards, especially for young women. In the ad, women are literally turning their backs on the filter and standing up for natural beauty.
This marketing campaign hits the nail on the head with its target audience who have stronger social values compared to the average female internet user. 50% of the brand’s users say they want and expect authenticity from the brands they love, 49% say they want brands to be socially responsible, and 41% say they want brands to make them feel valued. Therefore, not only is it an expectation, it is one way to win.
Personal relationships with brands is another reason audiences connect and stay connected to brands. What can be more personal than standing up and turning your back on unrealistic beauty standards?
https://www.linkedin.com/embeds/publishingEmbed.html?articleId=8837182728394003103&li_theme=light
I have so much respect for Dove and I can’t wait to see what they do next. Brutal fruit could learn a thing or two on how to do it right.

