This week one of Germany's most popular women's magazines announced it was moving from professional models to "real women": [ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33178280/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty ]. Who knows if this is an independent move or if it is a response to the Unilever / Ogilvy famous Real Beauty campaign. I suppose it doesn't matter. What does matter is that media plays a big role in accelerating important ideas -- in this case the idea that it isn't healthy for women or girls to be continuously told that the way they look just isn't beautiful. Mike Hemingway who worked on this global campaign for Ogilvy gives credit for the original idea to Brazilian born Unilever exec Syvia Lagnado. So Sylvia has an idea, gets executives at Unilever on board. They engage Ogilvy in the creative. The Dove Real Beauty campaign starts a buzz about notions of beauty and about the heartbreak of anorexia and bulimia in girls...and the next thing you know a popular German magazine is choosing regular women to feature in their magazine. This is why it is so important for those in media to pay attention to important ideas and how they can apply their creativity and talent to supporting them. Thank you, Syvia, and everyone who moved the ripple along.
