Dove Man at Ogilvy Says Glitz Is Real Beauty, Too

So, I was able to chat with Dove agency Ogilvy today, after two days of trying for a ClickZ News story published today on the brand’s sponsorship of awards ceremony content. The story hinged on the possibility that fans of the Real Beauty campaign might not appreciate Dove’s connection to glitzy awards shows and overly primped celebrities.

Mike Hemingway, Ogilvy’s global managing director in New York gave me a call this morning and I ran a couple questions by him. Does Dove run the risk of alienating women who truly appreciated the sentiments behind the Real Beauty campaign and its “Evolution” video? Could the success of those previous efforts be diluted by attaching Dove to red carpet critiques?

“We’re not anti anybody,” he told me. “If you happen to be size 8 and blonde, you’re still welcome.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for him to mention the surprise Golden Globes winner America Ferrera, star of Ugly Betty. Hemingway didn’t go so far as to call her ugly, but apparently she represents the new, less stereotype-driven Hollywood. “There may be some stereotypes that Hollywood did espouse of old, but there’s a lot less now,” he said.

Sure, and that’s why Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are on every tab cover….

In the end, he stressed that the awards content ads and sponsorship simply recognizes the fact that people like to enjoy themselves by indulging in celebrity culture (girls just wanna have fun?). “Hopefully,” he added, “When we see the online dialogue, we’ll see people saying, ‘hang on, stop being so literal.’ “

He also told me Dove ran ads during the Oscars last year, after the Real Beauty campaign launch. Apparently nobody made much of it then.

“I think people know enough about us [Dove] to realize what we’re doing and I doubt there will be a confusion of messages,” he concluded.