Dove's Campaign Hopes to Stop Name-Calling

Amy Dizon

Oct 8

MANILA, Philippines - Dove's recent television commercial tackled name-calling and how this impacts the way kids see themselves and hone their identity, encouraging viewers to stop this seemingly harmless teasing.

"Unilever is committed to promoting beauty, self-love and empowerment through our brands and campaigns. With this new campaign from Dove, we want to challenge limiting definitions of beauty standards and educate people on the impact name calling has on children. We ask everyone to #StopTheNameCalling and allow children to be their most confident selves," said Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines' beauty and personal care vice-president.

The young girls who appeared in the commercial experienced being called "Taba", "Pusit", "Kulot Salot", and "Piglet" because of their physical attributes.

They may have just laughed it off at some point to avoid an awkward atmosphere, but these jokes can be engrained in their minds.

One of the girls said in the video (in Filipino): "I often overthink at night and ask, 'Why is my skin colored this way?'" Another said people shouldn't name her based on her weight as she has a proper name.

This campaign is part of Dove's Self-Esteem Project, that aims to build the confidence of 250 million girls.

In line with this, Dove curated The Confidence Kit, which contains articles and advice from global experts focused on key topics that can impact young people's self-esteem and body confidence, from media, peer and cultural pressures to teasing and bullying about appearance.

Its goal is to initiate conversations between families and their children to help them maintain a positive body image and find their sense of self in a world filled with unrealistic images of physical ideals.

Tackling the issue of name-calling, the kit reminds that while "of course, robust discussions and gentle teasing are a part of being a family. They can help children develop and explore their opinions, and build resilience to the criticisms that are a part of their everyday lives. However, it's worth thinking twice about what builds character – and what diminishes confidence."