Ad of the Month - Dove
Brazil is a leading market in the beauty industry, characterized by product innovation, scientifically backed ingredients, and an enthusiastic consumer base. Long at the forefront of global beauty trends, Brazil has seen the rise of inclusive beauty and ‘skintellectuals’ - savvy consumers who approach beauty with the mindset of a researcher, prioritizing science backed efficacy over flashy claims.
Our testing suggests Brazilian consumers are open to new beauty brands and products, and particularly receptive to advertising. More than half of the ads we tested recently drove brand lift in Consideration. In this environment, compelling creative is not just a business boost, but a necessity. Fail to resonate with consumers, and you will fall further and further behind your competitors. We’ve seen some stand-out creatives, meaning any brand that wants a chance of being consumers’ first choice needs fresh, compelling ideas and well executed concepts.
To help brands ensure they are set up for success in complex landscapes like this, at Human Made Machine, we tell you whether your creative will be effective with your target audience. This is crucial, as creative contributes up to 70% of a campaign's success. We test thousands of creatives each month in realistic, simulated media environments using the gold standard of control/exposed experiments to predict real-world impact. To dig deeper into performance, we collect qualitative and quantitative data, analyzing what works - and why.
There were several exemplary creatives we could highlight, but just one winner…
The Winner: Dove - Clarice Lispector's Statue
This ad excels in isolation, but is also part of a clever long running campaign, which itself is part of a longer running movement that has defined the Dove brand for decades. As part of its iconic Real Beauty initiative, Dove restored the famous statue of beloved author Clarice Lispector on Lemme Beach in Rio in, drawing attention to the neglect of statues of female personalities compared to more frequently restored sculptures of male figures. This ad is part of the clever product-focused follow up campaign, bringing the statue to life to symbolize the restorative qualities of the Dove Body Serum.
The visual effects are striking and original, grabbing viewer attention even within a cluttered social media environment, which is reflected in the 10/10 score on our Breakthrough diagnostic pillar. This strong Breakthrough gives the ad the opportunity to convey its message to a captive audience.
The ad succeeds in connecting emotionally and culturally resonant content - the renowned author, her iconic statue, her companion dog, her famous novel A Hora da Estrela (The Hour of the Star), the recognisable setting - with the Dove brand. On our Brand Engagement pillar, the ad scored 9/10. The references to the statue restoration are a metaphor for the product’s benefits, but also subtly tie the brand back to the wider purpose led campaign, leveraging the equity of Real Beauty.
On Appeal, our most rational diagnostic pillar, the ad scored only a middling 5/10. This was due to some people struggling to understand the metaphorical messaging. Still, it was a top scorer on the specific Product Appeal metric, with many liking the central claim around skin restoration.
As well as monitoring scores, over the past month we’ve looked at thousands of qualitative responses to beauty ads in Brazil. This brings us closer to consumers, and helps us understand the key themes resonating with a brand’s audience. We see why consumers loved this Dove ad in their own words. What shone through was appreciation of the link to national heritage via a beloved author, the statue as a metaphor for diverse skin types, and the striking visuals.
“The ad is dynamic with beautiful and inspiring images shows how Dove can help with daily care.”
“I really liked that Dove's advertisement for its new serum used Clarice Lispector to show the need for self-care and the care of public property. It made the advertisement relevant and universal on several levels.”
“I liked the use of a statue of one of the most memorable writers we have, followed by one of her best works, to highlight how even sculptures suffer from sun exposure, making the viewer understand the importance of using skincare products.”
“I liked the approach of the ad; any skin type can be moisturized.”
Honorable Mention
TRESemme ASMR
Another Unilever brand - TRESemme - stands out amongst the beauty ads run on social media in Brazil recently. Like the Dove Statue ad, the hair care brand’s ASMR shower ad also achieves stellar Breakthrough, though with a very different approach. It evokes the sensorial experience of shampooing your hair in the shower, conveying the product as rich and luxurious. The approach had both fans and critics, but it held viewer attention and delivered strong brand lift. A worthy mention as an individual ad, but we rank Dove’s ad slightly ahead because of its amplification of a larger campaign message.
This month’s winner shows advertisers the value of long term planning and laying the foundation for sustained brand equity growth. Grabbing attention is important - and Dove has done this well - but in the fiercely contested Brazilian beauty landscape, what really sets it apart is a layered and long term approach.
Want to learn more about how to maximize the return on your ad spend with effective creative? Connect with us and request a demo.