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Library/Campaign/Dove Real Beauty Sketches
Grade B13 sourcesHIS-01006

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Campaign · 2013 · Notable

55Editable slideCertificate

Dove reported 114 million views across versions of its portrait-comparison ad.

A forensic artist drew women from their own descriptions and from descriptions given by strangers.
Dove on YouTube, via Wayback Machine
Dove's 'real beauty sketches' ad deserves some praise | Heather Long
The Guardian
Dove Real Beauty Sketches
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
Weekend Review April 2013. Dove Real Beauty Sketches.
The Irish Times
Dove Real Beauty Sketches For Men, A Parody by New Feelings Time
Laughing Squid
Stop posting that Dove ad: "Real beauty" campaign is not feminist - Salon.com
Salon

Spread Score

How it works
Reach63Contagion35Breadth50Velocity73LongevityNo data yet55

Numbers

PR and blogger impressions, approximate
4B
As of May 20, 2013 · Self-reported · Unilever
Peak date
Week of Apr 18, 2013
Apr 14 ’13 to Week of Apr 18, 2013
Platforms
5
Started on YouTube
Origin
Mixed
Beauty & personal care

Mechanics

  • ControversyPrimary
  • Response chain
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

Dove’s portrait film prompted sharing, criticism and parodies. Its media-awards entry describes centrally managed YouTube buying in 18 markets, Unruly seeding and promoted Twitter trends. Translations and coordinated local activity extended distribution.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

May ’13JunYouTubeRedditTVPressOpen web
YouTubeRedditTVPressOpen web

9 more events on this chart

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Timeline (12)

  1. April 2013

    Dove seed · Apr 14 ’13

    Dove released the portrait-comparison film on YouTube.[1][2]

    A forensic artist drew women from their own descriptions and from descriptions given by strangers.
    Open the first post ↗

  2. chuus platform jump · Apr 15 ’13

    chuus shared the film with Reddit’s TwoXChromosomes community.[3][4]

  3. New Feelings Time platform jump · Apr 17 ’13

    New Feelings Time released a parody using men with favorable self-descriptions.[4][5]

    Dove Real Beauty Sketches For Men, A Parody by New Feelings Time
Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 3 numbers
  2. 2026-10-15Added: 12 events, 12 sources · Score 55
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Beauty & personal care
Region
BR
PR and blogger impressions, approximate
4B
As of May 20, 2013 · Self-reported · Unilever
Evidence
Grade B

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May ’13JunYouTubeRedditTVPressOpen web
YouTubeRedditTVPressOpen web

9 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. April 2013

    Dove seed · Apr 14 ’13

    Dove released the portrait-comparison film on YouTube.[1][2]

    A forensic artist drew women from their own descriptions and from descriptions given by strangers.
    Open the first post ↗

  2. chuus platform jump · Apr 15 ’13

    chuus shared the film with Reddit’s TwoXChromosomes community.[3][4]

  3. New Feelings Time platform jump · Apr 17 ’13

    New Feelings Time released a parody using men with favorable self-descriptions.[4][5]

    Dove Real Beauty Sketches For Men, A Parody by New Feelings Time

  1. peak · Week of Apr 18, 2013

  2. platform jump · Apr 18 ’13

Join free to see the other 9 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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