Reference no: EM132197688
THE CASTING OF DOVE SOAP IN “UGLY WUDI”
The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” was a global marketing campaign that Unilever started in 2004. The cam- paign featured women of different shapes and sizes. The theme of the campaign was to inspire women to feel comfortable with their looks. For instance, one ad would ask viewers to vote whether the woman featured in the ad was “gray” or “gorgeous”; another ad would ask them to judge whether a 44-year-old woman was “hot” or “not.” The campaign built buzz for Unilever and won praise from feminists and the advertising community alike. However, the “Real Beauty” campaign struggled to gain traction in China.
For years, the idea behind the campaign was lost on Chinese consumers. For instance, when asked the question whether the women in the ad were “fat or fabulous,” most respondents in China would cast a “fat” vote. For good measure, some would add “and ugly.” In China, “a model on billboards is something that women do aspire to, and feel is attainable,” noted Mike Bryce, Unilever’s Asia regional brand development manager for Dove skincare.
With a market share of less than 2 percent in a $1.7 billion market for bath-and-shower products, Unilever went back to the drawing board. In 2007, Unilever conducted a mar- ket research study on Chinese ideas of beauty. One key insight is that many Chinese women believe they can match the level of beauty seen in advertisements, as long as they work on it.
Based on this finding, the company decided to axe the “real women” campaign in China and try out something entirely new: branded entertainment. Along with its media agency, WPP’s Mindshare, it decided to join forces with the creators behind Ugly Wudi, the Chinese version of the American Ugly Betty TV series. The deal gave Unilever the right to exclusive ads and product placements during the show. Unilever’s mar- keting staff worked with the show’s writers to embed some 3,300 seconds of the Dove brand into the script for the show’s first season.
The show premiered in September 2008. For the Chinese version, the writers dropped the Chinese Betty’s siblings to conform to China’s one-child policy and had her work at an ad agency instead of a fashion magazine.
The deal allowed Unilever to plug Dove and to weave the brand’s “Real Beauty” message into the show. For instance, in one plot element, the ad agency that Wudi worked for was pitching for the Dove account. When a problem arose during the pitch, Wudi stepped in and triggered a discussion about real beauty.
The show also became a vehicle to pitch other Unilever brands. Characters would drink Lipton during office breaks. Fernando, the agency’s boss, would wash his hair with Clear shampoo.
The show did not claim that it was fine for the character to be ugly. In fact, many Chinese bloggers initially complained that the actress cast for Wudi was not ugly enough. In Dove commercials that featured Wudi, she had flawless skin but wore braces and ugly glasses to fit her less-attractive persona.
Mindshare’s Matteo Eaton said, “The challenge of this and all content campaigns is getting the stars aligned so that a project can go ahead. You need a program with a good fit, a broadcast with good reach and the right audience and good ratings potential, a price that proves value, and a client with budget and campaigns that have the right timing . . . . Ugly Betty is a show about true beauty, which is exactly what Dove’s communication is all about.”
Sources: “Unilever gives ‘Ugly Betty’ a product-plug makeover in China,” Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2008, p. B1; “Dove finds perfect match in China’s ‘Ugly Betty,’” www.adage.com; “In China, brands come with plots—advertisers find big audience for Web series, films built around products,” Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2009, p. B6.
The show ranked No. 1 in its time-slot across China each time it aired during its first season. Unilever signed up for more, and the second season was scheduled to start in January 2009.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why did Dove’s global “Real Beauty” ad campaign fail in China?
2. What could be the benefits of an Ugly Wudi-like brand integration campaign over traditional advertising campaigns? What could be some possible risks?
3. How would you measure the effectiveness of this campaign?