Dove’s body-shaped bottles backfired

In 2017, Dove launched body-shaped bottles in its real beauty campaign that mimic the various body shapes of women, but many consumers felt insulted.

The "Real Body Bottle" offers a limited edition of Dove body wash in six shapes, curvaceous to slender, tall to petite. The idea behind the “real body bottle” is that women will purchase the dove body wash with the shape of the bottle they relate with.

But the campaign backfired and many consumers felt insulted. Instead of inspiring consumers about body positivity, many were offended.

The idea to inspire people about body diversity through the limited edition of body wash representing various types of bodies didn’t receive positive feedback.

Dove announced the campaign as it was discussed in the research from the Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report. According to Dove, the study tells that one in two women feels pressurised by social media as it made them look a certain way.

In spite of receiving criticism from the buyers about the packaging, Dove and parent organization Unilever has started a conversation online about beauty standards and self-perception which was a principal objective of the campaign.

In an official statement by the brands, it is said that we hope that women would spread beauty confidence and body diversity by fighting back and helping many women across the globe to embrace their own individuality.

The campaign was set in the UK, and it ignited a worldwide conversation, it is hazy whether the sales will spread the campaign further universally.

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