Description
3 in 5 kids experience mental health issues from toxic beauty content. So, we set out to highlight the scale of the social media-induced mental health crisis among kids; and inspire the world to demand change by signing the petition supporting the Kids Online Safety Act.
The film tells the story of Mary, a real girl who almost lost her life from an eating disorder. However, we didn’t need to shoot her story, Mary already had.
Using her own photos, videos, and journal entries, spanning over a decade, the film shows her downward spiral after getting her first phone and joining social media. Set to an emotional female cover of Joe Cocker’s You Are So Beautiful to Me, we see how quickly social media shapes Mary’s view of her own beauty, causing her mental health to severely struggle.
At the end, we learn this isn’t just Mary’s story. It’s the story of millions of girls. The film concludes with a rallying call for people to sign the Kids Online Safety Act petition. The iconic song, You Are So Beautiful to Me, is integral to the fabric of the film.
The female cover, reimagined by famous musician, Self Esteem, is used as a storytelling device instead of dialogue or voiceover. As the story unfolds, the song’s lyrics take on different meanings. At the start, the lyrics highlight the beautiful innocence of youth.
As Mary's mental health worsens, the lyrics take on a darker interpretation, ironically echoing Mary’s attitude towards herself and the toxic beauty ideals she’s pursuing. Then, in the end, as Mary’s mother sings to her, she finally sees herself as her mother does; that “she’s everything she’s hoped for” and “everything she needs.”
Finally, it becomes an anthem for young girls who have overcome their own struggles.
This professional campaign titled 'Cost of Beauty' was published in Canada and United Kingdom in January, 2024. It was created for the brand: Dove, by ad agencies: Ogilvy Toronto and Ogilvy UK. This Integrated medium campaign is related to the Health industry and contains 2 media assets. It was submitted 3 months ago.
Credits
Brand: Dove
Title: "The Cost of Beauty"
Corporate Name of Client: Dove
Client Chief Marketing Officer: Alessandro Manfredi
Global Vice President - Dove Masterbrand & Skin Care: Leandro Barreto
Global Brand Director - Dove Masterbrand: Pau Bartoli
Global Marketing Manager - Dove Masterbrand: Alix Colin
Media Company: Mindshare, New York
PR Company: Edelman, New York
Agency: Ogilvy UK, London / Ogilvy Toronto, Toronto
Agency Global Executive Creative Director (Unilever) & Special Projects: Daniel Fisher
Chief Creative Officer: Francesco Grandi
Agency Associate Creative Director Copy: Morgan Starr
Agency Associate Creative Director Art: Luke Woodard
Agency Designer: Laurence Blake
Agency Global Client Lead: Jo Bacon
Agency Global Managing Partner: Dougl le Patourel
Agency Global Client Partner: Lucy Tone-McGurk
Agency Global Account Director: Teigan Henry
Agency Global Account Manager: Natasha Wijeweera
Agency Digital Account Manager: Olivia White
Agency Chief Strategy Officer: Lindsey Gonnella
Agency Head of Integrated Production Hogarth: James Brook-Partridge
Agency Lead Senior Film Producer: Amanda Kresge
Agency Deputy Head of Production (Unilever): Chris Chapman
Agency Assistant Producers: Lynsie Roberts / George Ward
Agency Senior Art Producer: Jonathon Nixon
Production Company: SMUGGLER, London
Production Managing Directors: Patrick Milling-Smith / Brian Carmody
Director: Henry-Alex Rubin
1st AD: Ed Walsh
Managing Director/Executive Producer: Fergus Brown
Executive Producer: Drew Santarsiero
Line Producer: Manny Caston
Director of Photography: David Devlin
Production Supervisor: Svetlana Dekic
Production Designer: Justin Allen
Head of Production: Gina Liotti
Executive Post-Producer: Jennifer Kitchin
VFX Supervisors: Kogan Li / Jen Tremaglio
VFX Producers: Kyla Amols / Hoa Vu / Alyssa St. Vincent
Lead Artist: Phil Apostol
2D Artists: Mark Fowler / Jess Gorick
Motion Designer: Phil Apostol
Flame Artists: Ben Cantor / Adam Lindsey
Edit Facility: Final Cut NY, New York
Editors: Jim Helton / Ashley Kreamer
Assistant Editors: Micah Chase / Chris Rizzo
Editorial Producers: Wade Weliever / Penny Ensley / Justin Brukman
Color Company: Color Collective, New York
Colorists: Alex Jimenez / Javiera Ergas
Sound Design Executive Producer: Matej Oreskovic
Sound Designers: Alex Bingham / Patrick Burniston
Sound Engineer: Chas Langston
Music Supervisor: Alexandra Carlsson Norlin
Casting Company: Genuine Real People, New York
Casting Agent: Meg Miller
Creative Producers: Claudia Guevara / Lorenzo Uras / Gus Quirk
Photographer: Ale Burset
Retoucher: Eduardo Navarro
Wardrobe: Callan Stokes
