Dove: Shifting Standards and Ideal Self-Perception

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the course of time, the propagation of “impossible” beauty standards in consumer culture has had a negative impact on women. Aware of the issue, the revered personal care brand, Dove, enhanced customer attitudes and perceptions about the brand through the application of social marketing. This study attempts to assess the concept of the ideal self and the factors that contributed to the effectiveness of Dove’s marketing strategies in terms of shifting the notions of the ideal self among women and the exchange of influence among brands to address an emerging social problem which mass media largely contributed to.