The part about Dove's campaign that drew the most heat from Mr. Barnum was the idea of being pro-age, which he dismissed as "insanity".  I think it is very narrow-minded and ageist to ask "Who in their right mind is "pro-age"?"  Hmm, I think my grandmother is...

Anyway, I'd like to see how others have reacted to this editorial.  For the full text, click here.

And to answer his question - would I rather be self-aware and unhappy or deluded but content?  I would actually rather be self-aware and content...

Here is the commercial for "pro-age" Dove products.

However, in The New Yorker magazine last week one of Dove’s touch-up artists, Pascal Dangin, expressed his involvement in the Pro-Age portion of the Campaign for Real Beauty. “Do you know how much retouching was on that?” Dangin said. “But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.”

(Pascal Dangin photo courtesy of The New Yorker magazine)

In the same article, Dangin’s work is characterized by a “whiff of black magic” and it’s “not often discussed outside of [fashion circles].” Could the Dove photographs be phonies?

Dove representatives immediately responded that the photos were not retouched beyond basic color correction and dust removal. The photographer and Dangin himself joined Dove by saying that the photographs were authentic. Dangin said his quote was taken out of context.

So, where is the controversy? Dangin and Dove both refute the fact the photos were retouched beyond basic, ethical changes. However, from the beginning of the campaign, Dove has maintained that its photos are not retouched. Dove promised models in the Pro-Age campaign that their photos were not retouched. Wendy Katzman, one of the models, told Advertising Age magazine, “We asked and were explicitly told that none of our [Dove Pro-Age] photos were retouched. I just heard about The New Yorker article last night and was pretty upset about it!"

Despite the minor changes, Dove maintained from the beginning that it did not change the photographs. These inconsistent statements led to Dove’s seemingly contradictory behavior. Will Dove lose some of its brand power from this latest controversy? Does this issue even matter? Let me know your thoughts.

Anti-Aging-Produkte, wohin man in Kosmetikabteilungen schaut ... nur EINE Marke, die ist anders: DOVE! Dove hat eine Produktserie, die sich "PRO AGE" nennt ... DAS ist doch mal innovativ! :-)

Als Sahnehäubchen obendrauf gibt's das "Pro Age Netzwerk":
"Das pro•age-Netzwerk von Dove steht für ein positives Umgehen mit dem Älterwerden und möchte Frauen Inspirationen und Informationen rund um ein selbstbewusstes und aktives Älterwerden in all seinen Facetten bieten."

Das liest sich doch prima! :-)

El tema: “La campaña 'Que vuelvan los lentos', de Doritos"

Duración: 00:07:02

[odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17784883/view]

Para descargar los archivos de audio clickear aquí con el botón derecho del mouse y seleccionar la opción “guardar link como” (save link as).

El tema: "El lanzamiento de la nueva línea Pro Age, pensada para mujeres mayores de 50 años"

Duración: 00:13:16

[odeo=http://odeo.com/audio/17784783/view]

Para descargar los archivos de audio clickear aquí con el botón derecho del mouse y seleccionar la opción “guardar link como” (save link as).

La marca de belleza de Unilever sigue segmentando su mercado y ahora apunta a las mujeres mayores de 50. La nueva línea de productos está compuesto por un antitranspirante, barra de belleza, crema corporal y crema para manos (una nueva categoría en la que incursiona la marca). El diferencial de la línea Pro-Age es el cuidado extra que las pieles maduras necesitan.

La nueva línea estará acompañada con una fuerte campaña publicitaria, siguiendo el mismo tono que adoptó Dove en los últimos años. La comunicación hace hincapié en las necesidades de las mujeres y tendrá como protagonistas a personas “reales”.

La creatividad sigue en manos de Ogilvy, aunque esta vez corre por cuenta de la oficina de Chicago (aquí se puede recordar los conflictos que generó la multipremiada creatividad de la oficina de Toronto). La acción contará con piezas gráficas, vía pública y televisión.

La acción será complementada con manifiesto Pro-Age (siguiendo la campaña por la “belleza real”) que se puede descargar desde aquí.

Las piezas gráficas se pueden ver aquí y los spots desde aquí.

un'altro bellissimo video di Dove a favore delle donne "di età"... il video recita: troppo vecchia per essere in una pubblicità contro l'invecchiamento, ...ma questo non è un prodotto contro l'invecchiamento è un prodotto per l'invecchiamento.
Un sottile gioco di parole che nn si riesce a restituire perfettamente in italiano...