- Dove has teamed with Drew Barrymore to combat a social media trend that has seen young girls prematurely flock to anti-aging skincare products, per news shared with Marketing Dive.
- #TheFaceof10 campaign goals to spice up the conceit of youngsters who’re showing early signs of hysteria over their looks. In latest sponsored posts, Barrymore, a mother of two daughters, recollects her upbringing within the makeup chair as a toddler actor but argues that the fixation on anti-aging has gone too far.
- The Unilever-owned marketer has also partnered with experts to develop a guide for navigating discussions about anti-aging with members of Gen Alpha. The strategy reinforces Dove’s positioning around inspiring confidence and potentially gives the brand a bonus over rivals who’ve inadvertently landed in the course of a hot-button issue.
As social media’s deleterious effects on teen mental health are fiercely debated, Dove is tackling a worrying trend that’s relevant to its personal care business. Some girls within the Gen Alpha and Gen Z range have begun obsessing over premium anti-aging products like Drunk Elephant and rushing to retailers to try them on. While these brands don’t explicitly market themselves to tweens, they’ve been swept up in the following controversy.
Dove is using the moment to strengthen its purpose-led marketing initiatives that tackle the downsides of social media on young girls’ self-image. Dove estimates that just about one-quarter of women between 10 and 17 years old feel judged about their appearance.
“When did 10-year-olds start worrying about wrinkles and getting older? It is time to talk up to focus on the absurdity and protect their self-esteem,” said Firdaous El Honsali, global vice chairman of Dove, in an announcement.
The Unilever mainstay has its own line of anti-aging offerings and will distance itself from potential backlash by taking a stand now while getting a leg up on competitors. The company for a long time has run a Self-Esteem Project dedicated to body confidence.
To that end, the marketer has teamed up with Barrymore on a series of sponsored social posts where the actor and talk show host frankly discusses her view on the matter. In #TheFaceof10 videos, Barrymore details how she spent much of her upbringing around beauty and cosmetics but tried to deal with the fun sides, like applying glitter and stickers to her face. She pushes back against the concept of anti-aging broadly, noting that getting old is a privilege not everyone gets to experience.
“You won’t ever anti-age. If you’re lucky, you’ll actually get to age,” said Barrymore in an Instagram video. “But young girls, they don’t need anything anti-aging.”
In addition, Dove has enlisted body image expert and psychologist Phillippa Diedrichs and dermatologist Marisa Garshick to create “The Gen A Anti-Aging Talk,” a video on its social channels that gives assistance in discussing a sensitive topic with Gen Alpha. Dermatologist Mona Gohara also worked with the brand.
#TheFaceof10 push builds on a busy yr for Dove on the marketing front. The soap and skincare maker returned to the Super Bowl for the primary time in 18 years in February with a spot carrying a positive message around keeping young girls in sports.
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