Dove vows to shun AI for portrayal of 'real bodies' in its advertising

In this AI world where it is said that AI can replace everything. Dove, a beauty brand has taken a step and announced that it would never use AI-generated imagery to represent “real bodies” in its advertising campaigns.

The campaign highlights the AI results while giving prompts about beautiful women.

According to the press release, In its 2024 The Real State of Beauty: A Global Report, Dove finds over 1 in 3 women in the US would give up a year of their life to achieve an ideal look or body.

The study also shows that while beauty ideals have evolved over the years to be more inclusive across race, orientation, gender and size, the checklist of appearance ideals is growing and impossible to meet – from looking healthy (81%) to also being slim (72%) and having a small waist (69%) while also being curvy (59%).

Today, almost 9 in 10 women and girls say they have been exposed to harmful beauty content online. One of the biggest threats to the representation of real beauty is Artificial Intelligence. 

With 90% of the content online expected to be AI-generated by 2025, the rise of AI is a threat to women's well-being, with 1 in 3 women feeling pressure to alter their appearance because of what they see online, even when they know it's fake or AI-generated. 

While AI has the potential to foster creativity and access to beauty, with 1 in 4 women (24%) and almost 2 in 5 girls (41%) in the US agreeing that being able to create different versions of yourself using AI is empowering, there is still an urgent need for greater representation and transparency in content created by AI.

"Despite 20 years of work to broaden definitions of beauty, women feel less confident in their own beauty than they did a decade ago," explains Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, Research Psychologist at the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of West England and body image expert. "Representation is more important than ever. As AI technology continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is real beauty and what is manufactured by AI."      

To help set new digital standards of representation, Dove has created the Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines - easy to use guidance on how to create images that are more representative of Real Beauty on the most popular generative AI programs, for anyone that chooses to explore this new technology.

"At Dove, we seek a future in which women get to decide and declare what real beauty looks like – not algorithms. As we navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with new and emerging technology, we remain committed to protecting, celebrating, and championing Real Beauty. Pledging to never use AI in our communications is just one step. We will not stop until beauty is a source of happiness, not anxiety, for every woman and girl," explains Alessandro Manfredi, chief marketing officer, Dove.

The campaign will also be supported by an inspiring cast of empowering women across generations - singer and actor Reba McEntire, TV host, actress and entrepreneur Drew Barrymore, actor Beanie Feldstein, and actress and executive producer Marsai Martin, to name a few - who will lend their voices and stories to raise awareness and celebrate real beauty.