O&M's real women ads for Dove sees sales soar 700%

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 29-Jul-04, 12:15

LONDON - Lever Faberge has said that its 'real women' advertising campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather, is behind a 700% rise in sales of Dove firming products during the first half of the year.

The ad campaign broke in April and immediately caused a storm in the tabloids for featuring six curvy women and eschewing the use of stereotypical skinny models who usually appear in beauty advertising.

At the beginning of the year, Dove extended the brand from one cream, adding a body gel and a shower gel, ahead of a £5m through-the-line marketing push. According to reports, the brand's firming cream products have sold 2.3m items in the first six months of the year, compared with 280,000 in 2003, and Lever Faberge is attributing the rise to the radical advertising it used.

Dove brand manager, Abigail Storms, told the Daily Mail: "The advertising campaign has had a massive impact on sales of Dove firming products and on the market overall.

"It is so eye-catching and relates directly to real women everywhere. We were talking to women in the way they wanted to be talked to."

Dove began as a humble soap bar, but is held up by Unilever as a prime example of brand extension. Starting in the mid 1980s, the company has expanded the Dove product range to include shower gels, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner and moisturiser.

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