Listen to the article
4 min
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.
Campaign Trail is our analysis of some of the best new creative efforts from the marketing world. View past columns in the archives here.
Netflix series “Bridgerton” returned for its fourth season on Jan. 29, bringing viewers back to an alternative version of Regency era London. The Shondaland hit has captivated audiences with its take on the ton, the people of fashion in upper class English society, and the romance and intrigue therein.
Unilever brand Dove is taking on the ton in “Let Them Talk,” a campaign inspired by the world of “Bridgerton” that finds connections between the social order of the show’s alternate history and that of today’s social media-suffused reality.
The campaign’s hero video takes place during a masquerade ball. The chattering class is interrupted by the entrance of several people who are unapologetic and confident in how they challenge beauty standards, including a woman with alopecia who casts off her wig to reveal her bald head. The 45-second video is being amplified on Netflix and lives on YouTube as well as Dove’s social channels.
“Will this season’s jewels let the uninvited opinions dull their sparkle? It appears they will not, for the critics are no match for confidence,” a woman intones in voice-over. “Indeed, daring to show oneself unedited seems to be quite in fashion this season. You see, real beauty cannot hide behind a mask. Real beauty always breaks through. And royalty is to be found in those who wear their truth like a crown.”
The effort is part of Dove’s long-running campaign around “Real Beauty,” which has focused on building self-confidence in women and children by challenging how beauty is portrayed in media and advertising.
“One of the biggest challenges for Dove… was to make them feel comfortable, moving the brand from a place that had a lot of visual codes and a lot of deep-rooted philosophy, but bringing it to something new, like ‘Bridgerton,’” said Kim Haxton, an executive creative director and partner at Mythology, the agency that worked with Dove on the campaign.
Finding the connections between the brand and the streaming hit was one of the tasks left to Mythology.
“You have two disparate fan bases that you don’t want to upset by doing anything that didn’t feel authentic to either one. You had to honor both, but also at the same time, create something wholly new, so that it was exciting and relevant for people,” Haxton added.
Creators at the ball
The idea of a masquerade ball, which appeared in the first season of the show, soon emerged as the best way to bring the two worlds together. The masked whisperers and gossipers provided a clear analogue for similar figures in today’s culture.
“The ton in ‘Bridgerton’ represents the people that talk, the haters, the keyboard warriors. The pressures that Dove had always been pushing up against, beauty-wise, have shape-shifted across the decades, and now we’re really seeing it prevalent in social media,” Haxton said.
Creating a masked ball from scratch presented its own challenges, especially with Dove’s production standards around using real people and favoring unscripted authenticity — policies that are more difficult to maintain in the intricately costumed, high production world of “Bridgerton.” To satisfy all sides, Mythology worked with Dove’s partners to find creators who stand up for their authentic selves and were also comfortable with the realities of film production.
“It was super important to use people who are authentically living the message of the campaign. Just saying that message wasn’t going to be enough,” said Audrey Attal, an executive creative director and partner at Mythology. “We are championing women who do really ‘let them talk’ and are known for it.”
The featured people include Chiara Rose, a creator with alopecia who is a strong advocate for showing up even if it makes others uncomfortable. Throwing her wig was something she did during casting that made it into the final ad, reflecting how Mythology was able to tap into the creators’ personalities in an authentic way. But the agency executives stressed that “Let Them Talk” was not led or co-created by the creators, a tactic that has been used by other brands, including Dove sister brand Unilever.
“[The creators are] definitely not ad creatives,” Haxton said. “On the flip side, you didn’t really want to get them in there and direct them. It was like giving them the premise — you are entering this party and being your confident, authentic self, how might you do that? — and letting them do that… A lot of it was taking cues from what they were doing and bringing that into the creative piece. There was the construct there for them to play in.”
