Campaign encourages re-writing Matrimonials for daughters into beauty bias-free ‘Mothermonials’
Dove has released four testimonial films with mothers from across the nation that delve into their experience with the traditional matchmaking process and the ‘beauty tests’ that come
attached.
- The mothers encourage the change from Matrimonials that view their daughters through the narrow lens of height, weight, and color into ‘Mothermonials’ that aim to highlight their
daughter’s personality, preferences, achievements and ambitions.
- The campaign’s third year marks a paradigm shift in Dove’s narrative from #StopTheBeautyTest to #TheBeautyTestStopsWithMe by encouraging mothers to take charge and for daughters to challenge the very format of a biodata that is the perpetrator of beauty-based biases
- Dove has also launched an AI-based microsite (www.mothermonials.com) that enables the shift to mothermonials for prospective brides and grooms
For the past three years, Dove has been at the forefront of a transformative movement in India with its #StopTheBeautyTest campaign. The multi-year initiatives have been dedicated to challenge beauty biases faced by women, particularly within the context of arranged marriages. In the third edition of the series, Dove unveils the experiences of four mothers who inspire change by rewriting their daughters’ matrimonials to be free of beauty biases and introduces ‘mothermonials’.
MOTHERMONIALS: REWRITING MATRIMONIALS FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
The campaign builds on a poignant yet sharp insight that in the biodatas are circulated within family groups, daughters are solely described basis their height, weight and colour. With #TheBeautyTestStopsWithMe, Dove aims to redefine matrimonials, converting them to ‘mothermonials’ this year.
These ‘mothermonials’ aim to be holistic narrations of their daughter’s personality, preferences, achievements and ambitions – challenging the excessive emphasis on external appearances. In doing so, mothers of prospective brides change the narrative for their daughters so they can have a more positive experience in finding life partners, unlike the experiences they’ve had.
DOVE’S JOURNEY TO #THEBEAUTYTESTSTOPSWITHME
Dove sparked the conversation first in 2021 by highlighting the ‘beauty tests’ women face through the real-life stories of four young women while finding a partner in marriage. The second edition (2022) of the campaign delved into the ‘beauty report cards’ for marriage that adolescent girls receive early on, which perpetuate appearance-based anxieties throughout their lives and impacts their self-esteem. This year, with #TheBeautyTestStopsWithMe, Dove takes one step forward and calls on mothers and daughters to lead by example, inviting them to join the movement and change the way matrimonials are written.
IMPACT THROUGH FILMS AND AI
As part of the initiative, Dove has released four films, born from heartfelt conversations with Ms. Subhashini, Ms. Sudarshana, Ms. Ritu and Ms. Monica – four mothers from across the nation – that highlight the pervasive nature of beauty biases in arranged marriages.
Dove has partnered with a leading media house and Mindshare to enable moms and daughters write customized mothermonials by harnessing artificial intelligence. The platform enables grooms to connect with brides based on education, hobbies and quirks, rather than height, weight colour.
In addition to this the Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) in a partnership with UNICEF, aims to reach over 23 million girls and boys in schools in India by 2026. Through the educational material designed for this program, Dove aims to improve students’ knowledge and skills that help them enhance body confidence and self-esteem.
Sharing more insight, Harman Dhillon, Executive Director, Hindustan Unilever, and Beauty and Well Being General Manager, Unilever South Asia, said, “Dove is on a mission to ensure the next generation grows up with body confidence, self-esteem, and a positive relationship with the way they look. Through these campaigns Dove has urged and provoked the country to stop the beauty test for two years now. In 2024, we continue to build on our efforts by encouraging mothers to lead the change and for daughters to challenge the very format of a biodata that is the perpetrator of beauty-based biases. We aim to revolutionize traditional matrimonials into empowering ‘mothermonials’ that inspire society to see daughters beyond stereotypes. Through this campaign and the Dove Self Esteem Project, Dove is
committed to taking tangible actions that help address biases and inspire body confidence amongst young girls and women.”
Zenobia Pithawalla – Senior Executive Creative Director & Mihir Chanchani – Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy added “In our country even today parents put out matrimonial ads or biodatas for their eligible daughters. Tall, slim and fair rear their ugly heads in the first two lines. At Dove, we approached mothers who wanted her daughter’s matrimonial ad to be different from hers. These mothers of India joined hands with us to write matrimonial ads without beauty biases. We brought mothers on the frontline, to protect every daughter of India from the ugly Beauty Test. With this began the change from Matrimonials to Mothermonials.”
Watch the films here: Hindi | English | Tamil | Bengali
Visit www.mothermonials.com and create your own mothermonial – inspiring a lasting change.
Join the initiative that marks a significant step towards creating a future where beauty is inclusive, diverse, and celebrated in all its forms.
