To mark 20 years of advocating for Real Beauty, Dove launched a campaign addressing a new threat to authentic representation: the influence of AI-generated imagery. Recognizing that standard AI prompts often produce idealized, unrealistic beauty norms, Dove saw an opportunity to shift how beauty is reflected in digital environments.
Their proprietary prompts, grounded in their longstanding Real Beauty philosophy, led to more inclusive visual outputs—proving the brand’s enduring cultural relevance. Supported by a global study that revealed one in three women feel pressured to change their appearance due to online beauty standards, Dove committed to redefining beauty once again—this time within the algorithms that shape our digital world.
To counter the narrow definitions embedded in AI’s outputs, Dove partnered with Pinterest on an initiative that empowered women to define beauty on their own terms. Users were invited to select characteristics that reflected their vision of beauty. In turn, these preferences populated their Pinterest feeds with diverse, authentic imagery.
This custom experience launched with a high-impact homepage takeover and was reinforced by a strategic paid campaign and robust full-channel rollout. The campaign didn’t just challenge AI’s defaults—it transformed them, ensuring Dove’s Real Beauty message re-emerged at the top of the algorithm.
The initiative primarily targeted millennial women aged 25 to 54, strengthening their connection with Dove’s Real Beauty values. The campaign delivered an impressive 787 million impressions and exceeded all key benchmarks. It achieved a 2.9 percentage point increase in brand association and drove engagement levels that were 21.4% higher than Pinterest’s norm for women. Ultimately, the personalized Pinterest feeds became visual proof of Dove’s continued leadership in shaping how beauty is represented—and celebrated—online.
AWARDS
Cannes Lions 2025
CREDITS
Client: Dove (Unilever).
Campaign Lead: Alessandro Manfredi, CMO, Dove.
Global Research: Unilever Self-Esteem Project (33,000 respondents across 20 countries).
Creative Agency: Mindshare New York.
Media Agency: Mindshare New York.
PR Agency: Edelman, New York.
Creative: Soko, Sao Paulo.
Production Company: Saigon Motion, Reston.
Social Platform: Pinterest, San Francisco.
Production: Diprod Studio.
VFX: The Mill.
Audio Production: Hefty.
Film Narrators/Talent: Reba McEntire, Drew Barrymore, Beanie Feldstein, Marsai Martin.
Prompt Playbook Design: Real Beauty Prompt Playbook team at Dove.
Director (Film): [not publicly listed].
Global media planning and buying: Mindshare New York.
Purpose & Engagement Lead: Kathryn Fernandez, Senior Director, Dove.
Photography and stills: Dove in‑house creative team.
Social amplification and advocacy rollout: Unilever PR & digital teams.
