beauty

Norms.

It’s one of the most influential factors that shape who we are, the society and the times we live in. We grow up and we just accept that there’s always a certain way of doing things. Or we hold on to beliefs, no matter how limiting they are, because so many people are holding on to the same truths.

So we go on passively accepting that such is life. We tell ourselves: life isn’t always fair, there are more questions than answers, time’s ticking away and we got to get on with it.

But the beauty of time is that it brings change. Change that can take the form of a revolution – one that can either be subtle or really violent. And often times, the most disruptive changes are brought about not by arms or force, but by thoughts and emotions.

What follows are four brand campaigns trying to break social norms. Each brand tries to put an idea out there. All aiming to encourage audiences to take a stand, to do something whether it’s for or against the beliefs that we find to be true, meaningful and important in our lives.

Brand Campaign 1: Dove’s Real Beauty

Arguably, one of the most controversial ideas ever to puzzle mankind is the definition of beauty. The royals, the artists, even the lay people on streets have their own take on what makes someone or something beautiful. For the most part, it is a subjective evaluation, but society also pushes the “ideal” standards of beauty that everyone feels pressured to strive for.

Dove’s campaign for real beauty is not only groundbreaking. It’s also brave. Definitely edgy. And most of all dynamic. It all started with this time lapse video of a model. And from then on, the brand never stopped it’s advocacy on telling women all over the world that beauty cannot be put in a box, or measured, or even labeled. The brand’s message is to forever appreciate yourself and be proud of who you are.

Here another one from Dove:

Brand Campaign 2: SK-II’s Change Destiny

I’d like to believe that the tradition of marrying off daughters springs from a very positive, loving place. But we all know history. Women were often given away for dowries, for political gains, or simply to lessen the burden from their own families.

Asian societies, no matter how open and advanced they’ve become, still stick to the notion that women are homemakers. And they must be married off at a certain age. Otherwise, they’re not fulfilling their duty to the society because they did not do what they’re expected to do.

In this very moving brand campaign, “leftover women” tries to reach their parents hearts – trying to make them see the reason behind their choices and assuring them that it’s still okay. They’re still going to be productive, meaningful individuals even without husbands or families. Being single past the marrying age doesn’t reduce who they are and doesn’t make them lesser members of the society.

Brand Campaign 3: P&G’s My Black is Beautiful

Launched at the height nationalistic sentiment, biases and prejudice, this campaign aims to encourage everyone to speak up and find ways on how to get along amidst all the differences. It makes the audiences uncomfortable because it highlights a social issue that was once considered taboo. As the ad says, “It’s time for everyone to talk about bias.”

Brand Campaign 4: Always’ Like A Girl

You’ve heard it before. When you’re acting so soft, so sentimental or weak, you’re more likely to be called a “girl”. Here’s a brave re-frame of the that notorious term by Always. It gives emphasis on a girl’s strength and amazing potential.

Most of these ads may have been all about women and their rights, but don’t think that I’m discriminating other genders or belittling other social issues. If you’ve come across a campaign that truly inspired you, let us know about them. You can either put them in the comments or send me a personal message so I can add them on the list.

As always, thanks for dropping by!

Featured Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi

#Stop the Beauty Madness campaign aims to create a new culture around beauty. A culture that’s based on holistic self-qualities instead of physical appearance or vital statistics. A culture that encourages women to raise their confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. A culture that wants women to acknowledge that they’re enough, and for me, perfect as who they are.

They have various ads for the campaign, which features women of all ages. They also have a website and Facebook fan page, Twitter and Instagram.

Pretty. Ad Campaign for #StopTheBeautyMadness

But what, really, is beauty madness? Does the culture of beauty madness exist? What does it mean to be beautiful in the first place?

Let’s get real. Beauty is something that we all aspire for. We all have a yearning towards it. Beauty evokes feelings within us and moves us into action. It’s a self-satisfying experience to say the least. And that makes it very personal. The conflict comes in when we try to represent or embody our idea of beauty to others.

But as humans, we tend to overlook our own version of beauty so that we can belong to a group. We compromise our own beliefs to what the majority dictates so that we can be accepted. And only then, we’ll feel that we’re being recognized.

And there lies the problem.

The two or three similar opinions of others do not need to become your truth. And I am not saying this to promote disunity or rebellious attitude. Cases like, since you and I have different opinions on this, we can never agree, therefore, cannot be in harmony. No, what I’m saying is that, our society lacks respect for singular opinion and understanding of where that opinion is coming from.

And here’s another irony.

We put blame on the media, on the other people that we interact with everyday, their narrow views and their judgmental attitudes. But, when did we ever look within ourselves?

You got to take 100% responsibility of your life. This means, you’re in control of which opinions to believe, which influences you allow to enter your mind and affect your life.

Photo Credit: paperswords via photopin cc

So, if you think and feel that you got to conform to what majority thinks is beautiful, you decided on it. That was your choice. And by choice, it means that you have all the rights in the world not to take it in the first place.

So, let’s take a moment here to think back on the latest issue of the beauty magazine that you’ve seen, or that last ad for an amazing beauty product, or even that gorgeous ensemble of clothes, shoes and bag at the boutique.

It's called marketing, the activity is called promotion, specifically, using a print ad. No brute force right here, only gives you options on achieving your wants. — It’s called marketing, the activity is called promotion, specifically, using a print ad. No brute force right here, only gives you options on achieving your wants. Photo Credit: classic_film via photopin cc

The thing is, the owner of those products knows you enough to arrange certain elements that would certainly catch your attention. What you see in the media is the reflection of what you want. Why would they let you see something that you don’t like? That will definitely not pull in any revenues. That’s bad business.

I have nothing against women who wants to be like a supermodel, or who wants to get a nose-job or boob-job. It’s their preference. It can be the thing that makes them feel good about themselves. Or it can be their way of expressing self-love.

It’s all about choices. Choices that hopefully, they made in line with their values and not because other people think it’s cool or because they heard it from someone else.

I recommend moderation. Because whatever’s done in excess never ends up with something good. You want to lose weight? Please be reasonable and do it the right way. You want whiter, smoother skin? Please ask yourself if that would serve you well.

Always, always ask yourself if you’re doing these things for the right reasons.

And the idea that physically attractive people should just be on the cover of magazine and nothing else… Defies all reasons and common sense. Don’t you have any imagination? Those physically attractive people can go after any dreams that they like. They can be anything that they like to be.

Remember, you don’t have power over any other person, unless, UNLESS they let you. The reverse is also true. No one can have power over you without your permission.

So, personally, I don’t think that there’s beauty madness, that one perception of beauty is more acceptable than others, or wanting to be beautiful should be condemned.

Photo Credit: SweetOnVeg via photopin cc

I’m for diversity. The more ideas of beauty we have, the more representations we can make of it, the better. That way, we’ll have more options, more perspectives, more opportunities to learn about ourselves and our values. The more we can build something that’s definitely us. A personality we created out of our own choices. Our very own version of beautiful.

What about you? What’s your take on beauty? This campaign? Do you agree with this post? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Tag: beauty

4 Brand Campaigns That Try to Break Social Norms