Dove is championing inclusion by creating space for real beauty. In celebration of a positive self-image, Dove hosted ‘The Body Love Brunch’ on Friday, 8 April 2022, at Mulberry & Prince restaurant in Cape Town.
To showcase the power that real beauty holds, while giving women a platform to celebrate body love and body positivity, a photoshoot was held with photographer and filmmaker Olivia Mortimer and influencer Lesego “Thickleeyonce” Legobane. This encapsulates the essence of Dove: to celebrate all bodies and the diversity of real beauty, while showcasing beauty in its most natural state.
The striking images captured by Mortimer and Thickleeyonce were unveiled at the Body Love Brunch to an array of media and influencers in attendance, coupled with a panel discussion comprising Thickleeyonce, Olivia Mortimer, Oyama Botha (body positivity activist), Saul Moross (Chief Operations Lead for Africa TikTok), and Sphelele Mjadu (PR Lead for Africa – Unilever Beauty & Personal Care). The panel discussion unpacked topics such as understanding body love; navigating conventional beauty standards both online and offline; the role social media companies can play to protect users from body shaming; and the role Dove is playing to redefine beauty standards and encourage confidence.
The exhibition also unveiled Body Love as the new name for the brand’s iconic collection of body lotions. The range has been reinvented, including expertly upgraded formulations and sleek, redesigned packs.
“Through the expression of body love, people are able to show up in the world without feeling like they need validation from anyone outside of themselves. Dove is a brand that encourages people to show up in their truest form and this is why ‘purpose’ is at the core of the brand,” says Sphelele Mjadu, Beauty and Personal Care PR Lead (Africa) at Unilever.
Thickleeyonce was also given the opportunity to represent Dove as a partner at the Clicks Beauty Playground event which took place on Saturday, 9 April 2022. Her role was to speak on her self-love journey with the hopes of inspiring many others to invest time in self and appreciate the beauty in its most authentic form. In her speech, Thickleeyonce unpacked what body love means to her “When I think about Body Love, I think about embrace and acceptance. Body Love to me means that I can love my body each morning as I look in the mirror and love it when I step out into the world.” said Thickleeyonce.
Dove aims to contribute to a more inclusive, less apologetic definition of beauty so young people growing up with social media also grow up with confidence. Take action with download the new Confidence Kit Dove.com/Confidence to talk to a young person in your family or your community about self-image.
