The beauty community on TikTok is diverse and multi-faceted. Due to this, there are a wide range of influencers and micro-communities that cover every beauty interest. That’s what made the generative AI-powered Bold Glamour filter on TikTok so problematic – it conformed every face to one Western standard of beauty.

We needed to use same medium - influencers - who were helping spread to the Bold Glamour filter to these beauty communities, to fight against it. With #TurnYourBack we created a simple, replicable action to raise awareness of the negative mental health impact of digital distortion.

Social media has had face-altering augmented reality filters since 2015. However, most were harmless, adding dog ears or a virtual accessory like a crown. With the advent of generative AI the Bold Glamour filter leapt forward. Bold Glamour used one beauty standard to airbrush a TikTok user's face so much that some called for it to be illegal due to its mental health effect. Thanks to AI, Bold Glamour maintained the effect even with a hand in front of a user's face. This made it impossible to tell if someone was using the filter. While some pointed out the potential harmful side effects to young girls, many more influencers and everyday users used and shared the filter widely. As the creator of the No Digital Distortion movement and Dove Self Esteem Project, Dove needed to respond. And its response needed to be natural to the platform and reach millions.

In 2021, Dove commissioned research to understand the impact of digital image distortion such as filters and face tuning apps.

Dove's research found that:

· 80% of girls said they had already applied a filter or used a retouching app to change the way they look in their photos by age 13

· 80% said they compared the way they looked with others on social media

· Girls who distort their photos are more likely to have low body-esteem (48%) compared to those that don’t distort their photos at all (28%)

The urgency of this situation took a leap forward with #BoldGlamour's use of generative AI. This made it impossible to identify filter use. All on the heels of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research published in February 2023 that found more than half of high school girls reported experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year."

Thousands used the Bold Glamour filter, reaching millions in a few days after launch. The filter was so shocking, many tried it to see the effect in action. As more people began to use Bold Glamour, the common response was shock as the generative AI filter worked even with your hand in front of your face. This unlocked our creative idea. The only way for the filter to not distort your face, was for it to not 'see' your face, so we asked people to #TurnYourBack. This simple, replicable action made it as easy as a dance challenge or reaction prompt for TikTok users to participate. For a platform that relies on front-facing activity such as dance challenges and comedy, turning your back is thumb stopping.

With millions of views on posts using the Bold Glamour filter, Dove's response had to be quick and far-reaching. It also had to feel as native to TikTok as using the filter. Looking at the #BoldGlamour tagged posts, we realised that usage was being driven by influencers and creators. While many voiced their concern, many more used the filter without clear disclosure. Since influencers drove #BoldGlamour usage, we needed influencers to turn the tide. Yet, the rapid response had to gain the support of average users to get scale and influence the influencers. It also required a bit of bravery. Dove and its partner influencers were taking a stand against a filter many were using, most unaware of the harm it could create. Thus, we targeted partnerships with influencers who worked with Dove and committed to support Dove's No Digital Distortion campaign.

Within 72 hours of Bold Glamour going viral, Dove asked TikTok to #TurnYourBack to digital distortion. The execution used 68 influencer partners to shift the conversation many influencers drove. Actor Gabrielle Union's video post showed her using Bold Glamour, talking about how it made her feel and then turning her back. An easily replicable format that allowed every user - influencer or otherwise - to participate and drive the counter trend. Where available, partner influencers used a localised stat to drive home the message. This highlighted the prominence of digital distortion among girls and the impact on self-esteem. Earned media outreach and paid online and out of home media targeting females in our key markets (U.S., UK, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, South Africa) supported the launch. To top it off, Union turned her back on the world-famous Vanity Fair Oscars Party red carpet.

Our multi-channel campaign including online, out of home and print, kicked off with 68 influencers including actor Gabrielle Union posting #TurnYourBack within days of Bold Glamour going viral. Their posts garnered 54M video views, 567K+ engagements, with an 83% positive sentiment rate. Additional posts with paid amplification doubled that to 1M+. Despite having no out of home media space reserved, 25 megascreens in key locations went live within a week.

#TurnYourBack reached 1B+ from 174 pieces of earned coverage including Women's Health, WWD, PopSugar, and Vanity Fair Italia. 71% of these pieces included Dove in the title and 100% included at least one key campaign message.

The campaign also drove leading influencer agency Gleam to condemn the Bold Glamour filter and update its influencer editing policies. #TurnYourBack strengthened Dove’s leadership as advocates for real beauty and self-esteem, which increased brand consideration and purchase intent in the UK and US.