Dove tackles body anxiety with Be Real: Body Confidence for Everyone drive
Unilever brand Dove has teamed up with a host of charities, trade associations and businesses to launch the ‘Be Real: Body Confidence for Everyone’ campaign.
Introduced as a direct response to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Body Image report, which revealed that millions of Brits are stuck in an unhealthy cycle of depression, short-term dieting, cosmetic intervention and eating disorders in a bid to achieve an unrealistic ‘ideal body’, the Be Real campaign targets schools, businesses, charities, public bodies and individuals to help change attitudes towards body image and put health above appearance.
“At Dove, we are committed to building a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. Through the work of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, we create educational resources for young people to help inspire them to feel good about their appearance and to reach their potential in life,” remarked Mark Bleathman, vice-president brand building at Unilever, the campaign’s founding partner.
“Working with the Be Real Campaign, we will continue to champion a broader, more inclusive definition of beauty.”
The release of the report’s findings, which revealed facts including 1.6 million people live with an eating disorder and more than one in seven have considered cosmetic intervention, mark the start of Body Confidence Week.
Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the APPG for Body Image, added that low body confidence was “a critical public health issue” that affects all ages and both sexes and should not be ignored.
She added: “Through this campaign, we’re driving change through three priority areas. We want to ensure children and young people are educated about body confidence from an early age, to promote healthy living and wellbeing over weight loss and appearance, and to encourage the media, business and advertisers to recognise diversity and positively reflect what we really look like.”
Be Real has been founded by Dove and is coordinated by the YMCA, sponsors include bareMinerals, Debenhams, Facebook, Forster Communications, Government Equalities Office, N Brown, New Look and Superdrug. All Walks Beyond the Catwalk is acting as a lead ambassador.
Dove has a history of campaigning for Real Beauty with projects such as 'The Beauty Patch' and 'The Dove Self-Esteem Project'.