It beat out the Evian Roller Babies. Which
means it’s been watched more times than adorably chubby half-naked babies street
skating and kickin’ it ol’ skool.
That says something.
I recently stumbled—quite literally—into a library shelf
containing the book The
Seven Lost Secrets of Success by Joe Vitale. It explains the ideas of an ad
man who was a household name the ‘20s and ‘30s and is now, largely forgotten.
His name was Bruce Barton. He’s the second “B” in Batten, Barton,
Durstine, and Osborn, an advertising agency that still operates today. There,
Barton helped unknowns such as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford succeed by using
advertising to promote their goods.
So what did Barton “know” that others did not?
Barton believed business would save the world.
Funny, right? In a world where corporate corruption dominates,
it’s much easier to buy into the idea that business could "save" the world. Or
that business would change the world. But "would save"?
Well, the success of Dove’s campaign may be a good example
of his theory at work. Barton encouraged clients to “reveal the business nobody
knows.” Americans know what Dove sells. So the company aligned itself with a “universal”
need it could help us meet: Dove helped us feel beautiful.
I feel a compulsive need to instill in my daughter the truth
of her own beauty. She’s almost three. Beautiful inside and out. And she
already pretends to put on makeup so she can be “pretty.”
She watches mama put foundation on her “blotchy complexion,”
mascara on her “squinty eyes,” and blush on her “ghostly-white skin.”
What kind of hideous monster would my sketch artist draw? Worse, what will the little girl who looks a lot like mama see in the mirror at age 13?
Whether the campaign’s success will encourage us to buy more
of Dove’s products, I don’t know and won’t attempt to speculate. But I do know
this: Dove’s campaign changed my thinking--personally and professionally. Maybe it changed yours, too.
Like Barton said,
Like Barton said,
How can your business “save” the world?
