Dove's campaign for "Real Beauty" was Photoshopped

Posted May 8th 2008 at 1:31PM by Jonathon Morgan (Subscribe to Jonathon Morgan's posts)

Remember when we were all in love with Dove because they ran an ad campaign featuring "real" women? Well, kind of real -- clearly they weren't going to use fat or unattractive people, but at least the women in the ads were of more normal stature, and not Photoshopped to completely unrealistic proportions.

Or were they?

"Real Beauty," or Photoshopped? See for yourself

(click thumbnails to view gallery)

The latest rumor 'round the Interwebs is that, in spite of the company's outright mockery of studio-enhanced, digitally-altered models, the women used in the "Real Beauty" campaign were touched up considerably. A designer who worked on the ads told the New Yorker: "Do you know how much retouching was on [the Dove campaign]? ... But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone's skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive."

Ouch. So, what seemed like an attempt to showcase the average woman, turns out to be a lot less warm and fuzzy -- especially now that the people who created the campaign found it so "challenging" to keep old fat broads women with "mileage" looking suitable for their ads.

To be fair, a spokesperson for the ad agency responsible for the campaign has said that "There was no retouching of the women. If there was a hair that was up in the air, that might have been the kind of retouching that was done."

Maybe. Who do you believe?

Celeb Photoshop Disasters

(click thumbnails to view gallery)

[via Jossip]

Tags: advertising, beauty, body image, BodyImage, cosmetics, dove, dove campaign for be..., dove campaign for re..., DoveCampaignForBe..., DoveCampaignForRe...

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

clt 5-08-2008 @ 8:22PM

Okay, so they touched up the photos of the real sized models. They touch up the photos of every model!!! And they make HUGE changes even in the "perfect" people.

Michelle 5-08-2008 @ 8:39PM

How ironic of someome to type comments on the pictures of the older ladies that they were too old to be in an anti-aging ad. Actually, how nervy. Better those women then then 16 year olds in the ads advertizing skin "treatments"!!!!!

se 5-08-2008 @ 8:49PM

Do not try to soap me with this phony advertising.
All are air brushed.

amber 5-08-2008 @ 9:15PM

"Clearly they weren't going to use fat or unattractive people..."
So what, it's an attrocity to use a plus size woman in a modeling shoot? Please go shoot yourself, k?

Leslie Schwamberger 5-08-2008 @ 9:32PM

Even if they did it was still better than the stick models they normally use.

RY 5-08-2008 @ 9:45PM

Old fat broads? Who is Jonathan Morgan and how did he get this job? What an insulting snob. If this is the extent of his creative writing, he needs to go back to school - grade school.

Jane 5-08-2008 @ 9:46PM

I'd rather look at touched-up real women that airbrushed stick figures they call "super"models. The women may have been touched up, but they still look real. They have thighs and a belly. Airbrushing of the anorexic models is getting so out of control, any idiot can see the heavy use of photoshop, it's that obvious if you look carefully. And calling these women old fat broads....well it's obvious you prefer the skeletal skanky look. What an insensitive jerk.

T 5-08-2008 @ 10:25PM

Of course they are, no ones skin is that perfect, especially older women. Everybody has moles, scars, stretch marks, birth marks, wrinkles, and they're all missing. They took off just enough to keep them "real" -- whatever that means -- but they had to take steps to make them somewhat attractive, so that people will go "oh yeah, I guess they are beautiful". And all those women have at least an average or attractive face. They're not actually *ugly*. This is still an advertisement, after all.

jennifer Carlson 5-08-2008 @ 10:22PM

What's interesting about this is what Jonathan Morgan carefully left out of his article snippet. That is this quote from Dove about the digital guy : "He works with Annie Leibovitz, the photographer. And we don't have any record of him actually working on any of the Dove campaign." Morgan can take the time to add his personal comments about how fat ugly broads shouldn't be in ad campaigns, but he can't quite make room to tell BOTH sides of the story?

jcc 5-08-2008 @ 11:15PM

Of course the photos were retouched - no one had very big potbellies, stretch marks, cellulite, they were "big" but more or less shapely. I didn't even see any freckles.
I hated those ads. They're not really "real", they're touched-up real.

renee 5-08-2008 @ 11:18PM

Almost everything in advertising is touched up - even if it is a commercial still shoot with products or fruit that they paint or gloss to make more appealing. Advertising is an illusion
this was a good campaign especially the videos to bring awareness.

have fun

http://models-fashion-advice.com

Mary 5-08-2008 @ 11:30PM

Dove does not care about the size or shape of women. Dove cares about selling soap and other products. This was a gimmick.

Michelle 5-08-2008 @ 11:43PM

I guess it is a bit ironic that some "photoshopping" was done, but I mean, they were wearing makeup too, right? Probably some professional did their hair? You want "real"? It's a rare day when *I* get to do my hair AND makeup, and my nails are done, all on the same day. SO in that sense, they weren't even really really real even before the photoshop opened up. But advertising HAS to be a bit idealized, otherwise it doesn't work. So I was still glad to see real-ER looking women anyway. Let's keep expectations a little more realistic of what women should look like, if possible. That's about all this campaign can really say they did. At least it's something.

Lisa 5-09-2008 @ 1:15AM

I would rather be air brushed in photoshop than cut-up in surgery with a plastic surgen. What's the big deal over a few touch-ups. Come to think of it I'm going to go schedule a glamour shot with touch-ups--we will spend time and money on make-up and creams why not take advantage of a quick easy photoshop lift?

Dave 5-09-2008 @ 1:51AM

Funny... Most of the women they used in these ads are still skinnier than average. That doesn't mean they're fat. Sheesh... Most of the ads on TV, there is one girl who is normal, one who is slightly toward the "chunky" side (and still very attractive), and 6 girls who are skinny. Sure, they don't look like walking skeletons, thank goodness, but come on... I don't like women with the "Wilma Flintstone" narrow waist, which many of these models still have.
When will they learn that normal=attractive? And that a significant portion of men prefer heavier-set (=healthy) women?

J9 5-09-2008 @ 1:55AM

Actually, the usual print models are younger than 16 -- many are considerably younger. If the truth were known, you would all be shocked. That's what you get when gay men set the standard of beauty. Sad, but true.

Injun Mike 5-09-2008 @ 4:22AM

When I lived in West Hollywood, I was hired one time as an assistant for a little homosexual photo shoot featuring "real" homosexuals....instead of the usual Tom Cruise/ "Marlborough Man"/ Obama-type models, the company went to downtown L.A. and scoured the alleys around 5th Street and Broadway, and in the midst of shooting the winos and heroin addicts passed out behind dumpsters engaged in "man-love" got held up and made to get naked and sing "Kumbaya" by this little gang of 12 year old black guys with pistols eating ice cream cones....the gay guys in charge tried to "man up", but eventually broke down and cried, whimpering, "This is my best pair of Jordache jeans....you are so HEARTLESS!!!"....

J9 5-09-2008 @ 2:01AM

The body of a 12 year old girl, and that of a 12 year old boy are almost indistinguishable. The standard of female beauty has been set at this physical age level. Who set it? Hetero men? I think not. We should fight back ladies -- a child's body is not "Ferosh" it should be off limits.

Melissa 5-09-2008 @ 2:05AM

I work in a plus size clothing store. I myself am a plus sized woman. Gone is the day when I could stop traffic with my svelt figure. I still have an hour glass figure. (just a bigger hour glass) Every day I hear woes me's about how unhappy these woman are about their appearances. Media in large is the cause of plus sized and aging woman to now feel inadequate. I think anything that would boost the egos of plus size woman and our young girls is a plus. PERIOD. I could care less if the photos were retouched. Do they not also retouch the photos of the size 2 models as well? Our teenage girls are in crisis due to the unattainable expectations the media has created. As far as the "old fat broads" comment goes. Remember please, there are females in your own family that will of course age and gain weight. Perhaps your mother, daughter, wife, sister. You are shaping their future with your prejudice. You to my dear will age and fatten. Good luck to you on that.