Dove - Age of Elightenment

OK, ladies.  I know we like to spread the Dove love on urbanmoms.ca but I just can't stop!  This brand floors me...and I know I am not the only one!  We heard it from you in a recent urbanmoms.ca survey, in our product reviews for Dove's handwash and in your comments on this post.  We love Dove because they get it.  They make being real beautiful.  And now the brand has taken it a step further and we are loving it!

My fabulous mom saved a recent supplement for me which appeared in the March 8th issue of the Globe and Mail.  It was called The Age of Enlightenment and was produced by RandallAnthony Communications Inc. and sponsored by Dove.  It was a series of 5 essays and reflections from Canadian women in a new era of maturity.  It was amazing.

It also included three images of older women (including the one above) and asked the questions: Do you think this woman is beautiful? Is this woman revealing too much skin for her age? If this woman were on the cover of a fashion magazine, would you buy it?  Beside the women's photos were comments from people in response to the question posed.  You can check out the women and the ads (TV and print) here as well as details on the new Dove ProAge product which positions itself as the antithesis to anti-aging.  The products are positioned to embrace the beauty of maturity and deal with the issues real women face as they age. 

Once again, Dove has outdone itself.  As the population ages and women grow more confident with their maturity, the anti-aging craze no longer seems relevant and Dove, who is obviously selling a product, sees this and has used this insight to truly relate to their consumer.  And they are fearless in doing so.  Running a campaign like this, so opposite from traditional beauty advertising is not without its risks.  These ads have been banned and the women ridiculed.  I'm not sure I would have the confidence and resilience to face some of the comments and insults hurled at them!  However, in my eyes they are heroes.  They are beautiful and real and they stand for something very powerful.  And, because of this, once again, I salute Dove.  They have found one extremely loyal fan in me!