This parody video from Above Average Productions does a great job highlighting how annoying, condescending and counter-productive those Dove Real Beauty ads are. Starring Emily Altman, Langan Kingsley, Livia Scott and Lauren Adams.
(h/t Feministing)
Transcript (after the jump):
Voice-over: What do we as women really think about our appearance? The answers may surprise you. These three women are about to take part in a Dove True Beauty experiment and they have no idea.
Doctor: How do you feel about your appearance?
Woman 1: Good, pretty good.
Woman 2: There’s definitely room for improvement.
Woman 3: Um, I feel okay about it, you know. I have good days, bad days.
Doctor: Yeah, bad, okay. Um, oh, I have a phone call and I have to take this but I’ll be right back. Ah…there’s a mirror, just right there (winks to camera as she walks out)
VO: The women think that this is part of the interview, because we told them that it is.
Woman 2 (sees man in gorilla suit in “mirror”): Oh my God!
Woman 3: Oh! What the f**k?
Doctor (speaking on microphone pumped into the room): Wow, you must hate what you see when you look in the mirror.
Woman 2: What? Is that supposed to be me? Because I would never believe that that was me.
Woman 3: That’s not a f**king mirror. It’s not a mirror
Doctor: You look in the mirror and what you see is a disgusting zoo animal.
Woman 2: I don’t think that I look like a zoo animal!
Doctor: But is that the real you?
Woman 2: No!
Doctor: Look at yourself in the mirror. Do you feel unattractive? I bet you do.
Woman 3: No, I don’t – that’s a man in a gorilla suit.
Woman 1: Um, animal in the room!
Woman 2: I want to leave please; I don’t want the $25; I’d like to go.
Woman 3: Is this the door? Is this a panel?
VO: Again, the women have no idea.
Doctor: What would you say if I told you that that was not your face in the mirror? That was a gorilla man in the mirror and not your face .
Woman 3: I’d say yeah.
Doctor: You thought that was you and you totally fell for it.
Woman 2: No…No…I…No.
Woman 3: What is wrong with everyone? What is wrong with everyone here?
Woman 2: I never thought that was me in the mirror, not once.
Doctor: Huh, well, you can, you can thank Dove, okay? Just thank Dove. Hashtag true beauty.
Woman 2: No.
Doctor: Thank them. We showed you, using science.
Woman 2: No!
VO: Dove. You fell for our weird psychology experiment and it showed you you’re not actually a hideous monster, so where’s our Nobel Peace Prize or whatever?