This campaign was hyper-focused on an ongoing gaming industry issue. Gaming companies invest millions making sure virtual worlds are as authentic as possible but some of the characters in these worlds, specifically Black characters, are not authentically represented.

For something as personal and important as the way Black characters’ hair is depicted in game, we partnered with the Open Source Afro Hair Library and Black 3D artists to help solve provide a practical solution.

The exceptional form and function was created to offer inclusive and representative gaming experiences, enabling players to see their identities more authentically mirrored in their avatars.

The Code My Crown addresses a longstanding blind spot for the gaming industry. When the programs and algorithms were created for the 3D world, they were made for straight (Caucasian) hair.

With social media conversation raising the question of why Black avatars don’t authentically represent those who play video games, Dove commissioned research to unpack the issue. It found that 85% of Black gamers say they feel underrepresented in video games, specifically when it comes to the depiction of their hair textures. This was confirmed in further qualitative research with game developers, those responsible for character creation, as well as through analysis of four of the most popular games, where only 7% of hairstyles are textured and protective styles.

In an increasingly digital world, this was not a niche problem: 48% of game players identify as female, and 29% of game players are people of colour. Additionally, 87% of Gen-Z say they play games, a critical growth audience for Dove. It meant that in an increasingly digital-native world, in which there were now millions of Black female gamers, Black representation could no longer be considered a niche problem.

At a time when many brands are backtracking on their diversity and inclusion efforts, Dove’s commitment to real and tangible action on behalf of underrepresented women continues to set it apart. It had built deep trust with the Black community by advancing the CROWN Act, which helps protect against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles in America.

Using its hard-won credibility garnered across decades of action, Dove is pushing into new frontiers where representation is still a considerable challenge, and where empowerment and expression are still often suppressed and stifled. 

The gaming industry is one of those frontiers. Unlike other forms of media and advertising, the gaming industry has been surprisingly slow to focus on increasing authentic representation of all women on its platforms – with a real impact on gamers’ ability to see or authentically express themselves in gameplay.

For digital-natives, representation in gaming is as crucial as representation in real life.

Research showed that 85% of Black gamers feel underrepresented in video games, specifically when it comes to the depiction of their hair textures. This was not a niche problem: 48% of game players identify as female, and 29% of game players are people of colour. In an increasingly digital world, there are now millions of Black female gamers.

Additionally, 87% of Gen-Z (a critical growth audience for Dove) say they play games.

The underrepresentation of Black hair textures and styles in gaming presented an opportunity for Dove to bring fresh, contemporary relevance to its mission to make beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety, for all women.

74% of developers would play a role in promoting better representation of textured hair in video games – if they could learn how to code textured Black hair.

But what could Dove could do about this? Afterall, Dove makes hair, skin and beauty products. It doesn’t develop games.

Idea: Code My Crown

We collaborated with Open Source Afro Hair Library and a team of Black 3D artists, animators, programmers to create ‘Code my Crown’ - a 200-page downloadable guide training developers in how to code for Black hairstyles.

15 original hair sculpts laid the foundation for hundreds of virtual hair possibilities, offering the coding world the tools and ability to create more inclusive and representative gaming experiences.

Relevance to brand message:

Dove's mission is to make beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety, for all women. Code my Crown gave Dove a fresh, contemporary relevance for its mission. With the initiative, Gamers would see their identities more authentically mirrored in their avatars, affirming self-perception and confidence.

Target Audiences:

Gaming companies & developers, Gamers and the wider Black community.

Because programs were made for straight hair, Code my Crown is not just how to create Black hair for games. It addresses the creation of the 3D programs themselves-finding workarounds for the limitations of the existing software. E.g. the clump modifier tool can make spiral shapes but it wasn’t intended to make spirals twist back on one another, so an artist had to manipulate that.

Original workflows were created. We became the first to bring natural locks and twist-outs to the world of 3D. We discovered all Black hair in the virtual world could be represented by a combination of six base hairstyles. This made it less daunting for developers to create any of the desired looks.

We shot 360-degree reference images with real women and men for each and every hairstyle. Working with a team of hairstylists to ensure that real-life refences informed their virtual equivalent.

Adoption:

Top gaming companies Ubisoft, Undead Labs, Activision incorporating it into development processes - total reach 34,000 employees serving 229 million gamers globally.

Brand improvement: sparking cultural relevance by solving a real problem for a community.

• 1.81B+ impressions (benchmark: 900m) with 100% positive/neutral sentiment

• Engagement rate of 22.90%, outperforming our benchmark of 4.30% by +432%

• Supercharged brand relevance: 81% of Black Gamers said the initiative made them feel more connected with Dove

• 37% Black gamers and 37% Black Community said Dove is the only brand they would consider buying after seeing the Code My Crown initiative (+7 and +9pts respectively).

Societal change: advancing representation in gaming

• 2,691 guide downloads to-date

• 95% of Black gamers agree “the initiative has a positive impact on the gaming industry.”

• Over 90% feel it has a positive impact on society overall (95% Black Gamers, 92% Black Community).

What makes the Code My Crown guide so ground-breaking is that it addresses a longstanding blind spot for the gaming industry. Namely, that for all the research, development and back-end that’s been done for 3D programs, it’s all been done excluding Black hair.

When the programs and algorithms were created, they were made for straight hair. With Code My Crown, we are addressing a much bigger issue than just how artists create Black hair for games. We are addressing the creation of the 3D programs themselves and finding workarounds for the limitations of the existing software.

For instance, the clump modifier tool can make spiral shapes but it wasn’t intended to make spirals twist back on one another. So, one of our artists had to manually manipulate that.

Code my Crown directly and practically addresses prejudicial racial biases built into existing gaming programs and current capabilities, allowing for the creation of truly diverse and inclusive hairstyles, for the first time. It up-skills an industry and gives developers the blueprint to be able to create realist depictions of Black and protective hairstyles within gaming.

One very important aspect of the 200+ page guide is the reference imagery. With Black hair, there’s such a variation of hairstyles and hair types that anyone researching a particular look wouldn’t be able to find all the necessary angles. To address this, we shot 360-degree reference images with real women and men for each and every hairstyle. Working with a team of hairstylists, we made sure we were accurately representing each style, to serve as precise reference for what these looked like in real life and to inform their virtual equivalent.