I remember when I first heard about the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, all I wanted to do was just hug whoever thought of this campaign and squeeze them until they could no longer breathe (it's lucky that I didn't, because, you know, that would have been a tragedy). 

     I would have never expected that the same beautiful, lovely, wonderful people who I thought were just beautiful, lovely, and wonderful, were the same ones that created those Axe commercials, that, to be honest, makes me want to do the exact opposite of what the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is telling me to do.

     So, I went from wanting to hug those beautiful, lovely, wonderful people....to wanting to punch those so-called, beautiful, lovely, and wonderful people in the face.

     You can probably see by now how strongly my opinions for both campaigns contradict.

     The Dove Campaign for Beauty, on one hand is a very unique campaign that is actually doing good in the world. It offers and gives back any shred of hope that women have lost over the years due to the very unrealistic expectations of the media, and, in turn, society. For me, this was great because something that always bothered me was when people did not think they were beautiful. In my opinion, everyone in the world is beautiful, both inside and out.  In fact, I have never met one person who has not inspired me because they were so beautiful. This is why I was so happy when this campaign was released. Finally! A chance for people to truly realize how beautiful they are!!

Hey, you! You're all beautiful!!!!! (Source: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com.au/inside-the-campaign/celebrate-those-curves.asp)

     The thing is, I guess I'm kind of a hypocrite when I say that everyone is beautiful, because I don't really include myself as part of 'everyone'...and if I think about it, that's just it! That's why campaigns like these are necessary, because even a person who thinks that everyone and everything in the world is beautiful can have low self-esteem! Campaigns like these are needed in the world!!! (One thing I didn't like, however, was that it was just addressed to women, and not both women and men, but still, they're doing a job well done).

     This Axe Effect Campaign, however, truly defeats the purpose of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. Now, okay, I have to admit...when I first watched this commercial, I was laughing so hard that I was literally on the floor laughing (okay, floor, chair, same thing). However, when I watched it a second time, and the humour died off, I couldn't help noticing, "Oh my gosh. This girl is so skinny. And look at this girl! She's so tall! And OH MY GOSH, that girl has such luscious, long hair! Now, why can't I look like that?!"

      Of course, I know that that wasn't the intention of the Axe Effect Campaign (at least I don't think that was their intention). I'm pretty sure their intention was for men to buy the product, but, of course, not to actually believe that all of these girls will come running after them. What they mainly intended to do was to get across the message that  females actually enjoy the smell of their products. This whole Axe Effect Campaign, I'm sure, is just for comedic relief, and not necessarily to make people think that flocks of girls will come running after you if you use this perfume (because, really, how many boys do you know use that cologne in school, and how many girls come running through the doors of the school, covered in mud and dirt, in nothing but their bikinis, just because someone sprayed Axe on?) However, no matter what their main intention was, it still produced a negative effect, and (I'm sure) disappointed more people than those who found this ad absolutely hilarious.

      So, what exactly do I think about the fact that these two campaigns are run by the same parent company? When I first heard this, I was appalled! Surely, the business world is not that deceiving and conniving! Little did I know that I was completely wrong. The fact that these two campaigns hold the exact opposite values and beliefs disgusts me. Though, yes, I do agree that this is a clever way to earn some profit from different markets, it's still a very repulsing thought! To explain why I think this idea disgusts me as much as it does, think about it this way: if Unilever's actions paralleled those of a person's, that specific person would be the kind of person to act like they're the greatest friend in the world in front of your face, but then describe you using the most cruel adjectives behind your back. There is a word in the English language that would best describe this company/person, and that word would be: two-faced.

Definitely not a pretty sight.

     In my opinion, a company that overlooks over different campaigns should definitely make sure that all of them hold the same sets of beliefs and values. It's not right to deceive some consumers into thinking that they believe in one thing, and then deceive other consumers into thinking that they believe in the exact opposite. As a company, they deserve the right to be ethical and corporate socially responsible, and this includes making sure their consumers know the kind of company they are buying their products from. They need to take into account the long-term effects. If this unethical behaviour continues, and people find out, this company might very well lose a large number of customers, which, after working so hard to deceive people to earn profit, is definitely not something this company wants.

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