When women look and feel their best, it affects their confidence and happiness. However, 96% of women do not choose the word beautiful to describe how they look. It’s time women think about this choice differently, and the tendency to not ‘choose beautiful’ was tested by this campaign.

The challenge was to inspire women worldwide to realize that feeling beautiful is a personal choice women should feel empowered to make for themselves, every day.

In a short film, women from five cities reconsider their beauty. The women were confronted with a choice about how they see themselves: ‘average’ vs. ‘beautiful.’

A global PR strategy was crafted to launch in 70 countries simultaneously with precision. Earned media was the launchpad - the driving force of the marketing mix, encouraging women to realize they have the power to choose beautiful for themselves.

An earned exclusive launch story with Huffington Post Women (US) was secured, enabling depth in content as well as influence on a global level. Dove aligned influencers worldwide like Tina Brown serving as presenting partner of the Women in the World Summit, which extended and amplified the conversation among women on and offline globally.

In a first for the brand, self-esteem resources were developed for women, by Dove global advisory board members, related to mindfulness, and available on the campaign Tumblr.

After just two weeks:

• Over 4 Billion PR impressions globally

• 100 million film views globally

• Social mentions with an overwhelmingly positive sentiment at 98%

Pre-launch, Dove granted behind-the-scenes access to select media to demonstrate authenticity, offering unique coverage angles.

The earned launch story with Huffington Post (US) afforded the campaign immediate and mass exposure globally, eliciting awareness, video views, social engagement. Media outreach, leveraging a host of spokespersons and assets, in over 70 markets followed instantaneously.

Events worldwide, from Canada to Argentina, South Africa to Turkey, Greece to the Nordics, immersed media in the campaign, sparking robust editorial coverage and social support. In the US, Tina Brown shared her perspective on #ChooseBeautiful and posted socially.

Markets engaged influencers to contribute to the conversation. Influencers shared why they Chose Beautiful and invited fans to participate. Influencers were then targeted with deeper engagement and gratitude for their support.

Campaign execution culminated at Women in the World. Dove championed women, exploring myths about decision-making, emphasizing the link between beauty, confidence, performance.

After two weeks:

• 100 million film views globally

• 125,000 social mentions globally, with 67% using #ChooseBeautiful and positive sentiment of 98%

• Visits to the Choose Beautiful Tumblr exceeded 3 million, with average duration remaining strong at 2 min

• Total PR placements globally: 1,118

• Global Average Placement Score (composite score of a PR placement such as key message delivery, editorial prominence, media outlet significance): 7 out of 10

• Percentage of Positive Tonality: 80%

• For 18 markets for which there is reliable YouTube audience data, the film reached 5% of all people on the platform: top performer was the Philippines, where 33% of the unique audience was reached, followed by Turkey 23%, Argentina 18%, Mexico 17%, Brazil 13%