Dove breaks beauty-bias cycle with ‘mothermonials’

New Delhi: Dove unveiled the third edition of its #StopTheBeautyTest campaign. In this, Dove unveiled the experiences of four mothers who inspire change by rewriting their daughters’ matrimonials to be free of beauty biases and introduces  ‘mothermonials.’

The campaign builds on the insight that in the biodatas that are circulated within family  groups, daughters are solely described on the basis of their height, weight and colour. With  #TheBeautyTestStopsWithMe, Dove aims to redefine matrimonials, converting them to ‘mothermonials’ this year. 

These ‘mothermonials’ aim to be holistic narrations of their daughter’s personality, preferences,  achievements and ambitions - aimed at challenging the emphasis on external appearances. 

As part of the initiative, Dove has released four films, born from conversations with Subhashini, Sudarshana, Ritu and Monica - four mothers from across the nation.

Dove has partnered with a media house and Mindshare to enable moms and daughters to write  customised mothermonials by harnessing artificial intelligence. The platform aims for grooms to connect  with brides based on education, hobbies and quirks, rather than height, weight and colour.  

In addition to this the Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) in a partnership with UNICEF, aims to reach over  23 million girls and boys in schools in India by 2026.

Sharing more insight, Harman Dhillon, Executive Director, Hindustan Unilever, and Beauty and Well Being General Manager, Unilever South Asia, said, “Dove is on a mission to ensure the next generation  grows up with body confidence, self-esteem, and a positive relationship with the way they look. Through  these campaigns Dove has urged and provoked the country to stop the beauty test for two years now. In  2024, we continue to build on our efforts by encouraging mothers to lead the change and for daughters  to challenge the very format of a biodata that is the perpetrator of beauty-based biases. We aim to  revolutionize traditional matrimonials into empowering ‘mothermonials’ that inspire society to see  daughters beyond stereotypes. Through this campaign and the Dove Self Esteem Project, Dove is committed to taking tangible actions that help address biases and inspire body confidence amongst  young girls and women.” 

Zenobia Pithawalla - Senior Executive Creative Director and Mihir Chanchani - Executive Creative  Director, Ogilvy, added, “In our country even today parents put out matrimonial ads or biodatas for their  eligible daughters. Tall, slim and fair rear their ugly heads in the first two lines. At Dove, we approached  mothers who wanted her daughter’s matrimonial ad to be different from hers. These mothers of India  joined hands with us to write matrimonial ads without beauty biases. We brought mothers on the  frontline, to protect every daughter of India from the ugly Beauty Test. With this began the change from  Matrimonials to Mothermonials.”