I'm sure you've seen Dove's recent series of commercials, in which a forensic artist produces two sketches of a woman: one based on her own description of herself, and another based on the description of a near-stranger.
The idea, of course, is that the stranger-described portrait turns out to be a much more flattering depiction than the self-described one.
This is supposed to reveal something about the way women view themselves. All set to soft chords, played to tug at the heartstrings...hold on while I dab my eyes...there. Sniff. Better.
But there's a massive, glaring logical problem. It's right in your face, screaming at you.
Let me illustrate.
Say you're a drop dead gorgeous woman and you know it. You have no body-image issues. And you're asked to participate in the game.
Are you going to sit down with the artist and say, "Frankly, I'm drop-dead gorgeous"?
Of course not! You're going to be hard on yourself so you don't sound arrogant. You're gonna mention the wrinkles, the blemishes, the protruding jaw, the droopy eyebrows-- whether you believe you have them or not.
It's human nature.
After all, the only sin a woman can commit greater than ugliness, is arrogance. As we've all heard so often: "You don't know you're beautiful / And that's what makes you beautiful."
It goes the other way, too. Say you're the stranger, and you're asked to describe the woman you just met.
Are you going to mention ANY of her blemishes? And sound like the biggest jerk on planet earth? Of course not!
This little social experiment proves nothing, and Dove knows it. At the end of the day, they just want to make you cry. And then buy soap.
So if you've bought into the piano chords and soft lighting....You been played by a playa.
That is all.
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