Dove examines the cost of beauty

A new campaign from Dove continue's the brand's examination of the impact that social media can sometimes have on a young person's life.

Created by Ogilvy London and Ogilvy Toronto in consultation with mental health and disordered eating experts at the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, as well as at Project HEAL, the three minute film is the emotionally affecting story of a little girl whose mental health is impacted by social media and the images, trends and so-called advice she finds within it.

Called Cost of Beauty: A Dove Film, and directed by SMUGGLER's Henry Alex Rubin, it chronicles the real story of Mary who in archival footage we see as a sweet, happy girl, and the terrible impact social media's images of perceived beauty have on her. The film follows on from Dove's recent campaigns, such as Reverse Selfie, which confront the issue of women and girls’ self-esteem and the potential damage caused by some social media content.

"The constant exposure to toxic beauty content online is having a heartbreaking impact on the mental and physical well-being of kids and teens," said Daniel Fisher, Global Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy. "We are deeply indebted to Mary and the other voices in the film for allowing us to tell their stories because it’s critical that we come together as a society to create a safer, healthier online environment for younger generations. This is timely, important work and, as the father of two young girls myself, I pray that it will help spark the actions our society needs to be taking.”