Moms and daughters sit reverse one another in a dimly lit studio, speaking candidly to the digicam to mark the twentieth anniversary of Dove’s iconic “Actual Magnificence” marketing campaign, whereas movies from the long-running initiative flicker on a display. However this isn’t an anniversary spot from Unilever: it’s a spoof advert from Greenpeace U.Okay.
“Poisonous Affect: The Darkish Aspect of Dove” takes a swipe on the CPG big’s use of throwaway plastic. In accordance with a Greenpeace Worldwide report, Unilever sells the equal of 1,700 super-polluting plastic sachets per second, with Dove alone producing 6.4 billion sachets in 2022.
The video, directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Alice Russell, mirrors Dove’s 2022 “Poisonous Affect” spot, which used deepfake know-how to show social media’s dangerous affect on younger ladies, sparking a dialogue with their caregivers.
This time round, although, there’s a twist. Greenpeace first exhibits moms and daughters sharing their optimistic reactions to Dove’s inclusive, purposeful advertising and marketing, earlier than revealing their response to clips that lay naked the impression of plastic air pollution and movies that accuse Unilever of being “one of many largest plastic polluters on this planet.”
The video ends: “If Dove actually care about ladies and women, it’s time they cease poisoning our planet with plastic.”
In an announcement reacting to the marketing campaign, Unilever stated: “Our ambition at Unilever is obvious: an finish to plastic air pollution via discount, circulation, and collaboration. We acknowledge the necessary position that we play to assist make this ambition a actuality – which is why plastic is one in every of our 4 sustainability priorities.”
The enterprise stated it had already decreased its virgin plastic use by 18% and elevated its use of recycled plastic to 22%.
“Nevertheless, our work is much from over,” a spokesperson added. “Our up to date plastic targets are stretching and give attention to the areas that we all know may have probably the most impression, comparable to persevering with to scale back our virgin plastic use and growing options to hard-to-recycle versatile plastic packaging, like plastic sachets.”
CPG sustainability underneath the microscope
Greenpeace finally desires Unilever to part out single-use plastic and transition to reusable supplies within the subsequent 10 years. It’s additionally calling on the corporate to advocate for this on the upcoming UN International Plastics Treaty negotiations, the place it co-chairs the Enterprise Coalition.
