The Darker Side of Dove

I've been a big fan of Dove lately -- strongly influenced by their Dove "Real Beauty" campaign (I even blogged about it).  Then, I watched the GreenPeace advertisement from 2008 (above), mimicking the real Dove ad (below).

Dove, like many other products, contains palm-oil.  In fact, Unilever, Dove's parent company, uses the most palm-oil in the world -- 4% of total production.

Is palm-oil that bad?

Liking isn't helping

Most ads go unnoticed.  Some annoy.  At best, they entertain.  On a rare occasion, they leave an impression.  

Last week, I saw this ad campaign for Crisis Relief Singapore.

"Real life photographs are interposed with “thumbs up” hands and the copy: “Like Isn’t Helping. Be a volunteer. Change a life.” It’s a call to move on from social networking to turning up to help."

Although it may feel good to "like" or "+1" the latest social cause on your newsfeed, it doesn't do much.  It's not a real action.  Non-profits need money and volunteers.

For more thoughts on giving, check out my post here.