When a top national news anchor was abruptly dismissed after 35 years, it was revealed that her termination may have been due to her grey hair. There was an immediate uproar from Canadians denouncing the discriminatory decision.

For decades, Dove has been committed to fighting stereotypical standards of beauty for women. Dove felt a responsibility to stand up in the moment against the discrimination women face for choosing to go grey, and launched the #KeepTheGrey campaign within 48 hours of the news.

Dove’s objective was to raise awareness about the double standard for grey hair in the workplace. While men may benefit from grey hair, signaling experience and wisdom, women may be labeled as letting themselves go or unprofessional. Dove also aimed to create lasting protection from the ageism and sexism grey-haired women face through partnership with an NGO and government.

We saw Lisa LaFlamme’s firing as a spark that could start a fire.

Within 48 hours of this outrageous example of grey hair discrimination, the #KeepTheGrey campaign was deployed across all Dove owned social channels.

For the first time, Dove turned its logo from gold to grey.

Key influencers were activated to spread the movement across social. The brand partnered with Catalyst, a non-profit working to increase women’s workplace inclusivity, and donated $100,000 to Catalyst to further their work.

Earned materials were prepared to go live at the open of business. The brand invited audiences to turn social profile pictures greyscale to build a movement against the grey-hair discrimination women face.

Dove also wrote to the Ontario Human Rights Commission about the ageism and sexism grey-haired women face.

Through its quick-turn response, Dove turned a cultural moment into a social movement fighting ageism and sexism against women.

When it was revealed that a top national news anchor’s abrupt dismissal may have been due to her grey hair, there was an immediate social and media uproar. The termination led to the campaign insight: there’s a double standard whereby men may benefit from grey hair, signaling experience and wisdom, but women face discrimination.

As a decades-long champion for women’s representation, fighting stereotypical standards of beauty across media, Dove had the responsibility to stand up in this moment. The brand needed to prove its values to its core audience of women, and land the key message of stopping the ageism and sexism women face for choosing to go grey.

Dove launched the #KeepTheGrey campaign within 48 hours of the news to unify and galvanize the real-time national discussion. The brand also partnered with an NGO and government to ensure meaningful progress against the ageism and sexism grey-haired women face.

What started as one woman’s story turned into progress for all women.

Within 48 hours of news breaking that a newscaster’s dismissal may have been due to her grey hair, Dove launched the #KeepTheGrey campaign. For the first time in history, the brand turned its iconic gold logo to grey and sparked a national movement fighting the ageism and sexism that grey-haired women face every day.

With paid, owned, and earned media, Dove recruited both people and brands to join the #KeepTheGrey movement—to take a stand, share their stories, and turn their profile pictures grey in support of the cause.   

Overnight, fifteen of Canada’s biggest influencers were activated to join and share the movement on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dove partnered with Catalyst, a Canadian non-profit working to increase women’s workplace inclusivity, and donated $100,000 to Catalyst to further their work.

Earned materials for immediate use were created, including a robust media list, campaign assets, pitch notes, and FAQ to insert Dove into a timely national news conversation around discrimination against women in the workplace.

Finally, to create lasting impact, Dove wrote to the Ontario Human Rights Commission to protect grey-haired women from ageism and sexism. The brand made history when it was invited to sit on the Human Rights advisory board, where Dove will continue to advocate for women’s equity and rights for years to come.

#KeepTheGrey became the most covered campaign in the history of Dove Canada with over 1 billion impressions, 675+ earned stories globally, 95% positive/neutral sentiment, and top five trending hashtag on Twitter. Paid media results delivered the most cost-efficient CPM on Dove YTD.

Consumer response exceeded all expectations, with over 18,000 pieces of UGC. Global brands like Wendy’s and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit also joined the movement.

Consumers felt #KeepTheGrey brought attention to an important issue (90%), and had a good impression of Dove (89%). Though sales were not an objective of the campaign, total hair sales during the campaign increased about 5% versus prior month.

The impact of the campaign led Dove Canada to launch a grey hair product line in 2023.

And in recognition of its efforts and the resonance of #KeepTheGrey, Dove was invited to the advisory board of the Ontario Human Rights Commission to continue advocating for women.