Social media whether we like it or not strongly influences how we view and understand the world and has a lasting impact on our self-image. Digital distortion is on the rise with many “enhancing” certain features to live up to current or trendy beauty standards.

For young girls, retouching selfies beyond recognition has become the norm. But these digital acts are leaving a very real mark. For many young women, self-esteem is at an all-time low and as a result, more are likely to experience anxiety, depression, and serious long-term health disorders.

As a brand that embodies real beauty and confidence, Dove had a responsibility to tackle this threat, but awareness of the Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) and its helpful resources remained low. The brand needed to expose the problem and spark a conversation at the source: social media.

We partnered with Lizzo to drop the Naked Truth on Instagram – an unretouched, naked selfie that urged people to get real about harmful beauty standards. Who better to help Dove destroy the dark side of social media than Lizzo, reigning queen of the kind of content that makes you feel good as hell.

In collaboration with influencers and paid partners, Dove and Lizzo transformed an online movement into real world activities for girls and parents/mentors including an Unfiltered Virtual Slumber Party, IG Lives of mega-influencers such as @mamabee, and influencer-generated expressions of the DSEP resources.

Dove aimed to generate wider awareness of the Dove Self-Esteem Project through strategic partnership that taps into the cultural zeitgeist and generates earned hooks that drive headlines, positioning DSEP at the heart of the story.

In 2021, social media platforms notoriously made headlines for damaging girls’ self-esteem. A Dove study also found that 11 in 12 girls were retouching their photos beyond recognition, leading to issues like body dysmorphia and lower self-esteem.

Instead of simply exposing the problem, Dove supported the next generation by creating a suite of tools and resources designed to tackle modern issues that girls face in today’s digital world. We called it “The Selfie Talk” and partnered with Lizzo to give parents, teachers, mentors and girls a solution to the realities of social media presented in the campaign film and Dove study.

We launched “The Selfie Talk” alongside a dynamic new brand partner: Lizzo, who has been working in parallel to Dove to widen beauty definitions so that women and girls can see more of themselves in media and culture – especially on social media.?

As a known culture driver, Lizzo’s announcement of our partnership and DSEP campaign nearly broke the internet, capturing new audiences through music, news, culture, and entertainment outlets and exposing them to DSEP.?

On launch day, Dove hosted its first-ever virtual Dove Global Summit. Four sessions over two days featured dynamic conversations around topics like digital distortion, sustainability, body confidence, natural hair freedom, and more?. Our partner Lizzo joined Dove Self-Esteem Educator Dre Brown on the first day to introduce the brand’s latest #NoDigitalDistortion campaign and have “The Selfie Talk” with North American media.

Lizzo’s candid sharing and vulnerability broke the internet, amassing 4M likes. One post became a rallying cry for change and spread a positive message for young girls.

346+ articles resulting in 3.4B+ potential impressions drove engagement with DSEP tools by embedding Dove in a cultural conversation around digital distortion on social media, driving massive exposure for DSEP in unexpected outlets like The Cut, E! Online, Buzzfeed, Complex, Paper Magazine, Forbes, and Insider.

- Our launch announcement impacted 28K+ young people through DSEP downloads of The Confidence Kit – a 2,650%+ increase in daily 2020 reach?

- 28% of unique articles include a link to Dove.com to download DSEP tools

- 20% of unique articles mention ‘The Confidence Kit’