Business Management - Report On My Reflective Folio

Stage I.

The Dove Ad 2017

The controversial Dove Ad 2017 created an uproar in the social media due to its approach towards skin care and spread controversy in minutes. A black woman takes off a brown colored shirt and becomes a white woman wearing a light beige shirt. 

This Ad had the objective to show that Dove body wash is for all skins irrespective of race and color. However, it failed to portray the concept clearly to the audience, which was women of all races and was ineffective. The brand clarified that both the black and white women removing their shirts meant to represent the “after” stage of using the Dove body wash, however, they could not convey the message. They apologized and said that the ‘feedback for the ad will guide them in the future”. An article in Adweek shows how Dove apologized for ‘missing the mark’ (Richards 2017).  

If Dove body wash claims to reach out women of diversity, it should first consider marketing them from the beginning; to make it clear how it would be beneficial to all skin colors or types. Moreover, it should also re-design its marketing strategies by understanding the consumers or the target audience at a deeper level by standing in their shoes. Dove should also incorporate proper screening where it could screen and broadcast appropriate content, by involving employees from all backgrounds and experiences. 

The Gillette Ad 2019

The Gillette Ad 2019 triggered both negative and positive reactions from the public.

According to Coffee (2019) in Adweek, the Ad covered issues of bullying, harassment and misogyny, and showing men accountable for each other and supporting a new generation working toward their best behavior. The Ad also engaged women who believed that the Ad is against bad behaviour of men. The objective in the Ad was to target two audiences at the same time; a) men who have responsibility towards raising a new generation of boys who are accountable for each other and do not make excuses for bad behaviour, and b) women who condemn bad behavior by men and misogyny. 

The customer loyalty can be maintained by not changing the tagline. The Ad could avoid controversy by engaging two separate audiences, men and women, as to avoid confusion and gain sales. According to Zupan (2019) in Adweek, ‘engaging women in the shaving industry has been a neglected opportunity’. Gillette should also carry out research to understand the current audience before changing the tagline after 30 years.

The brand had positive motives for this Ad, where it wanted to create a positive change. However, the result was that Gillette lost some buyers due to some people believing it to be stereotypical and portraying toxic masculinity, but also managed to engage a new audience, i.e. women, ‘…while maintaining the original branding and message for their traditional audience’ (Zupan 2019).