Campaigns · Global · 2013
Dove: Real Beauty Sketches
A forensic sketch artist drew women twice: once from their own description, once from a stranger’s. The gap became one of the most-watched ads ever made.
By Maer Media editorial teamPublished 4 October 20263 min readOgilvy BrazilBranding · Campaigns · Content & Social
- Brand
- Dove
- Market
- Global
- Year
- 2013
- Category
- Campaigns
- Agency or team
- Ogilvy Brazil
- Channels
- Online film, PR, social
The context
Dove had owned “real beauty” since 2004, but the idea risked becoming a tagline. The brand needed a fresh, emotional proof of its central claim: that women are more critical of their own looks than others are.
Women are their own harshest critics: Dove’s own research found that only a small minority of women describe themselves as beautiful.
The move
Ogilvy Brazil hired a former FBI-trained sketch artist who never saw his subjects. Each woman described herself from behind a curtain; a stranger then described her. The two portraits were hung side by side, and the three-minute film showed the moment each woman saw them.
How it was executed
- Recruited a former police sketch artist who drew each woman from behind a curtain, without seeing her.
- Had a stranger describe the same woman, and drew a second portrait from that description.
- Filmed the moment each woman saw both portraits side by side, then released a three-minute film and shorter cut-downs in many languages.
A forensic sketch artist drew women twice: once from their own description, once from a stranger’s. The gap became one of the most-watched ads ever made.
What happened Reported facts
Unilever reported over 114 million views in the first month, making it the most-watched online video ad at the time. It won the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2013 and was shared widely in more than 25 languages.
Why it worked Maer’s analysis
The experiment turned an abstract belief into a single image anyone could understand: two portraits of the same face. Viewers recognised themselves and shared it with people they cared about, so distribution was largely earned.
What to take from it Maer’s analysis
- 01Prove the brand idea with an experiment, not an assertion.
- 02A simple, repeatable format (two sketches) travels across languages.
- 03Emotional truth earns sharing that media can’t buy.
For Indian beauty and personal-care brands, an honest experiment about self-image, skin tone or ageing can prove a positioning more powerfully than a celebrity, provided it’s handled with consent, care and no colourist undertones.
Where Maer applies this
The same thinking runs through these brand templates:
Sources: Unilever press materials (2013); Cannes Lions 2013 winners. Figures are as publicly reported; Maer Media was not involved in this work and is not affiliated with Dove.
The Maer Media editorial team studies how brands are built, from positioning and packaging to launches and growth. Figures in each case study come from the public sources listed above; the analysis and the India notes are our own. More about Maer
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