After a study conducted by Unilever revealed that 93% of women find their armpits unattractive, Dove have launched the “ultimate go sleeveless” campaign, with a range of deodorants which condition armpits to make them ready to be bared in just five days.
Are Dove guilty of creating another insecurity and another aspect of the female body for us to be ashamed of, just so they can sell us a product? Comedian Stephen Colbert certainly thinks so, calling the product a great new “shame-o-vation” in a hilarious segment on his show (you can watch it here) also noting that “if you take the time to invent a new thing for women to feel insecure about, then sell them the solution, you’ve cornered the market”, and suggesting that new areas to worry about may include the “leg-pit”, “elbow-wattle” and “thumb crotch”.
Could this new deodorant aimed at beautifying our armpits damage the brand that has simultaneously encouraged us to pay less attention to media images of perfection? Dove’s campaign for real beauty has been portraying women in a realistic and positive light for years, but could this ad undo all this good work?
Ads have always used shame as a successful technique in convincing women and men to buy products, and slate.com reveals an immense and hilarious history of shame in advertising, from a 1919 deodorant ad which warns that many people with BO can’t detect it themselves and can “never be sure of their daintiness”, to a 1925 Listerine ad that warns that a woman with bad breath will be “always a bridesmaid”.
The shame of discoloured and unattractive underarms is already a concern in the Philippines, where this ad for underarm whitening cream offers to assuage a woman’s fears about her unsightly armpits. The end line says it all…. Defy Colour.
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