In an earlier post I talked about Dove’s social mission, and the amazing film they produced for You Tube called "Evolution", showing how a natural looking girl (right hand side of the picture) is artificially primped, preened and then computer enhanced for a cosmetics ad (left hand side).
Well, the update is that this 75-second viral film, created by O&M Toronto, has had more than 1.7 million views on YouTube, in addition to being featured on TV talk shows. According to a Marketing Vox report it also brought the biggest-ever traffic "spike" to the CampaignForRealBeauty.com website, three times more than the advert the brand ran during the Superbowl last year to promote their Self Esteem Fund. One other small difference: it was free to upload the video to You Tube. The Super Bowl ad cost $2.5 million to buy!
You can see the film by clicking on the arrow on the image below. If you are reading the Monday Morning email, you need to click on the title Dove Update: Evolution viral ad seen by 1.7 million people to visit the blog.
5-minute workout: how could you harness the viral power of You Tube? But beware of gimmicks. Dove Evolution works because i) the brand has a clear mission and brand idea, ii) the execution is fantastic.