Kids are experiencing severe mental health issues from the onslaught of seemingly endless toxic beauty content on social media. Anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, PTSD, and even suicide - the harm social media can cause has no limits. Because neither does social media. In fact, the majority of young girls say they feel the pressure to look perfect and match what they see on social media. Our brief was twofold: first, highlight the scale of the social media-induced mental health crisis among kids; and second, inspire the world to act, demand change, and save kids from the dire consequences of toxic beauty content. Our goal was to mobilize the masses by creating a single, shareable film and get viewers to sign the petition to support the Kids Online Safety Act.

Toxic beauty content is devastating the mental health of 3 in 5 kids, with an entire generation in crisis. To take action, Dove wanted to support the Kids Online Safety Act. To inspire others to do the same, we told the story of Mary; a girl who almost lost her life from an eating disorder.

We didn’t need to film her story, Mary already had.

Using her photos, videos, and journal entries, spanning over a decade, we created a film that shows her downward spiral after getting her first phone and joining social media. We set it to an emotional female cover of Joe Cocker’s iconic song, ‘You Are So Beautiful to Me,’ reimagined by popular musician and staunch feminist, Self Esteem.

In the end, we learn this isn’t just Mary’s story. It’s the story of millions of girls.

All assets included a call-to-action to sign a petition endorsing KOSA.

The truth is stark: young girls are paying a heavy price for toxic beauty content, and it's a cost we, as a society, cannot afford. We needed parents to understand that their daughters' appearance dissatisfaction wasn’t just a passing phase—it's a deeply serious issue driven by relentless comparison on social media, capable of leading to profound mental health issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even suicide.

To make this urgent message resonate, we launched a film that speaks to parents, children, and society as a whole. We needed to show that lives are at stake and urge swift, meaningful action by driving support and collecting signatures for the Kids Online Safety Act petition.

Authenticity and relatability were essential to this work. We cast a real survivor and told her story entirely through her own photos, videos, and journal entries.

Distilling 14 years of Mary’s life into 115 seconds was an involved and challenging process. Once we amassed a large collection of archival footage, we painstakingly began editing Mary’s story.

We carefully crafted the narrative with mental health professionals to ensure the story was visually compelling, but not distressing to those who may be triggered by the content.

The film was set to the iconic song, You Are So Beautiful to Me, reimagined by popular musician, Self Esteem, and used as a storytelling device instead of dialogue or voiceover. The result is an authentic story that belongs to Mary and almost every girl who has struggled from mental health issues. The films ends with a call-to-action, urging viewers to join Dove in endorsing KOSA.

The film launched organically and immediately went viral. When social media tried to ban it for highlighting the platforms’ danger, we pivoted to LinkedIn resulting in 20K+ organic shares, with many proclaiming Mary’s story is their story. It also inspired legislative reform in the UK, with the House of Lords passing new measures for kids’ online safety.

The film has received 69M+ views, +11.1B+ impressions and is the most shared Dove film of all time, with earned media coverage in 190 placements including NBC, Women’s Health, and Teen Vogue. Dove more than doubled its goal of 50,000 petition signatures for the Kids Online Safety Act, putting significant pressure on lawmakers. The pressure resulted in the bill passing unanimously in the Senate committee on Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure in July 2023. Now, with the support of 62 Senators, the bill is poised to pass the American Senate.