Dove launches obese and hairy armpit campaign in NYC subways to promote showing off unshaven women's underarms
Skin-care product brand Dove has launched an ad campaign called "The Pits of New York" in the New York City subway system aimed at normalizing the exposure of hairy armpits.
Developed by ad agencies David New York and Ogilvy UK, the poster campaign features photos of women showing off their underarms with the flagship image featuring a morbidly obese woman with hairy armpits.
The posters all included a factoid claiming "6 in 10 of us admit to judging other women's armpits."
"Let's change that. #freethepits with Dove," the ads encouraged.
Different versions of the promotions included interchangeable, vaguely motivational phrases such as "Uncomfortable? She isn't," and "Care for underarms. Not what others think of them."
The obviously liberal-targeted campaign offers an equally hollow description on Ogilvy's website.
"Ogilvy UK and DAVID New York have created a new campaign for Dove that brings to life the brand's commitment to body positivity in a new way," Ogilvy wrote.
"Ahead of New York fashion week, the out of home campaign is displayed in ‘the pits of New York,’—appearing in the most trafficked NYC subway systems—and takes on the stigma around underarms, asking people to challenge their preconceived notions of the body part and, together, #FreeThePits."
"Does this make you want to buy Dove products?" author Oli London asked, sharing photos of the "inclusive" ads in New York City.
Dove soap launches new \u2018inclusive\u2019 advertising campaign in New York titled \u2018The Pits of New York.\u2019 \n\nDoes this make you want to buy Dove products? \n\n\ud83d\udcf8@pauldrossi— Oli London (@Oli London) 1697415518
The campaign launched approximately a month after Dove made headlines when it announced a partnership with a pro-fat, racial-identitarian activist.
The soap company teamed up with morbidly obese BLM activist Zyahna Bryant, 22, known for her iconoclasm, aversion to healthy living, and for allegedly ruining the life of a white student over a "misheard" comment.
The armpit campaign was at least the second collaboration between agency David New York and Dove in 2023. A July campaign titled the "Injectable Billboard" is featured on the agency's website.
A far cry from the promotion of obesity or armpits, the agency created a billboard for Dove made up of syringes to illustrate the harmful practice of young women getting cosmetic injections.
Although the campaign was part of an "ongoing mission to make beauty accessible to all," the billboard featured 50,000 syringes to represent the alleged number of Canadian girls ages 14-17 who had received cosmetic beauty injections within the previous year.
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