Ogilvy & Mather London’s ‘Ad Makeover’ campaign for the DOVE ® beauty brand  has picked up a Silver  in PR and Bronze in Cyber Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2012.

This campaign was created as part of the brand’s commitment to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. O&M developed a Facebook application that empowers women (and men) to take on negative ads, enabling individuals to choose positive messages to run in the Facebook ad space bought by DOVE ®. This first-of-its-kind Facebook app gave women (and men) the unique chance to control advertising in Australia and Brazil, reaching more than 29 million women.

Dove® paid a premium to attempt to continually outbid other advertisers during the campaign so that these positive ads were shown. Women (and men) could select from one of eight positive beauty messages, to appear in the ad space on Facebook including, “Your birthday suit suits you,” “Every body is beautiful” and “The perfect bum is the one you’re sitting on.”

Gerry Human, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather London commented:

“Ad makeover shows just how effective creative ideas can be in the digital/social arena. We were thrilled to see how quickly millions of women embraced this idea and how much positive feedback was heaped on the brand.”

Fernando Machado, Global Vice President, DOVE ® Brand Development for Unilever:

“Women are exposed to negative advertising everyday that preys on their insecurities and can impact their self-esteem. This campaign encouraged women to say goodbye to ads about muffin tops and belly bulges, and hello to positive beauty messaging. We chose to use Facebook because of its power and reach in social media, to propel these positive beauty messages to as many women as possible.”