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This short video called Dove Evolution was published and created by the soap and beauty company called Dove. The video can now be found on youtube, however, at one time it may also have been available on television as a commercial. It is a part of a series of videos published by the Dove Self Esteem Fund.

I first saw this video when I was in high school and it has remained a powerful image in my head ever since. This was the first exposure I had to the world of editing and photoshop in our media. At the time, I was in complete amusement and shock at how messages around us by media could be untruthfully altered to portray perfection. I am now aware that the medias use of editing in advertisements and magazines is commonplace in the publishing world. However, it remains a controversial issue on both the viewers end as well as the contributors ( model, actor ect.) Here, Dove aimed to address the effects photoshop in advertisements has on it’s viewers, particularly women. With no shortage of images of airbrushed and beautified women in our magazines and online, Dove encourages women that not all that meets the eye should be believed and that perfection is an unattainable goal.

I also think this advertisement is interesting in that is it an advertisement being analyzed by an advertisement. Uniquely, it relays information about other advertisements rather than information about it’s own products. It is assumed that Doves products are already known by the viewer. This advertisement is able to create a hero in it’s brand by exposing it’s competitors by creating a fund called The Campaign for Real Beauty. This video, tied with other similar videos in the series all contribute to the popular medias message that seeking perfection is the only way to attain it beauty.