Analysis of the Advertisement in the Self Magazine

The ad features in the Self Magazine May, 2007 issue where in the 2007 healthy beauty awards body Dove Pro Age was voted the best bar soap (http://www.self.com/beauty/2007/04/healthy-beauty-awards-body). The purpose of this advertisement is to show a vivacious young healthy body which is the result of using Dove Pro-age Bar soap.

The target audience is women in the age group of thirty five year and above years, outgoing sporty, vivacious and full of life. The entire advertisement featuring the girl in a black Bikini with the spray of water around her exudes a feeling of freshness and life. The photograph is shot in front of a water body and the girl is taking a shower after a dip in the water body. The advertisement does not use copy but the entire treatment is such that it shows the basic quality of the product in sync with age and freshness.

The Dove Pro Age campaign for the body soap, addresses the growing concern of women who would like to retain their youth and freshness. It addresses the emotions of health, popularity and beauty. The suntanned skin, the vivacious smile, the outdoor life all emphasize an emotional connect with health age and beauty. The moisture on the skin, and the subtle body curve of the girl in the photograph gives a feeling of softness and smoother skin.

However, the target of Dove Pro Age Soap bar- older women may actually deter the younger generation from using the soap because a young woman of thirty may not like to be identified with a person who has got old skin.

The advertisement although targeting the older age strata of women, could actually be regarded not as a fair advertisement. The photograph in the ad campaign raises aspiration levels in older women which may not be attainable. Any amount of anti aging ingredients would not allow women in the post menopausal age group to achieve active outdoor life and attain the beautifully curved body of the girl in the ad campaign. There seems to be a fundamental disconnect between the visual representation of the dove campaign and the aspiration level of the target audience.

The general ambience of the ad campaign in an outdoor setting is completely in line with the American Culture of an outdoor life. It also plays upon the psychological concern of American women who would strive to possess a curvaceous attractive body and would like to flaunt it in swim wear on the beach.

But this does not detract us from the fact that Dove has grown from a US – only soap into Unilever’s biggest global brand reaching out across continents and available in all stores. But this advertisement could have been more specifically targeted at women over forty by using a more realistic photograph of the woman next door and there by base its brand appeal and product USP on the section of the target audience it would really like to address.