The Asian media landscape has always been a proponent of stereotypes, and there's a narrow definition as to what constitutes beauty when it comes to a woman's features, body, skin, hair, and even their style. Women are forced to operate within this framework because our society validates these impossible standards. Still, no one deserves to be held back because of unrealistic or even artificial depictions of beauty. DOVE takes pride in celebrating the beauty of diversity, and the brand has stood behind this message for years both on a global and local level. However, to just say you stand for something is not enough - 2019 is a year of action. It's time for DOVE to become a leader in its own category and beyond, driving the real beauty movement further and empowering women from all walks of life with the help from brands across different industries.

Whether it's more apparent categories like intimates and fitness or more unlikely candidates like charity, brands often utilize attractive women in their communication to add appeal to the products or services they are advertising. But due to mainstream media's narrow definition of what beauty means, what consumers get to see end up being a one dimensional and stereotypical depiction. To truly represent everyone and celebrate the diversity that makes us unique, we put 12 unlikely candidates under the spotlight to show the world that beauty can come in so many ways.

The target audience is broad, and realizing this, it was clear from the beginning that DOVE cannot be the only proponent of this mission. Different brands and people have to come together so that the message we are aiming to deliver comes from a united front that is changing the perspective of a niche audience within an industry and society as a whole. Instead of spreading the word on their own, DOVE brought various brands together to be the voice of change. By sharing one key message across a multitude of categories, we drove our point home.

The campaign was launched on multiple online and offline channels. Thematic videos and key visuals made the initial announcement of DOVE's collaboration with other brands to advocate a new definition for beauty. Manifestos from female representatives and a library of non-retouched images came after to complete the package. Outdoor placements also covered high traffic locations along the mass transit railway, including two vital downtown areas in Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay. Model cards of campaign participants were seeded to advertising agencies, showing that there's talent outside of what's considered conventionally beautiful. Stock photos were also made available, and free access was given to brands and partners to utilize our assets - as long as they commit to not retouching anything. Finally, a website became the hub for user-generated content, and our audience can use the page to take their own portrait and create a bespoke beauty manifesto.

The featured video received over three million views and the movement recorded over 800,000 instances of engagement on social while gaining traction with various media outlets and key opinion leaders. More than $50,000 HK Dollars has been donated to the Hong Kong Girls Guide with this initiative via the Beauty Manifesto mini-site to support their “Action on Body Confidence” program, and thousands of women also stood in solidarity with the campaign by publishing beautiful photos of themselves with the DOVE photo frame.