Dove is launching the Real Virtual Beauty campaign in response to unrealistic beauty standards and stereotypes being witnessed in the gaming industry.

Did you know that 1.3 billion women and girls make up half of the global games community?

In order to change the face of beauty in the gaming industry, Dove is implementing a series of actions championed by partners within the space such as Women in Games, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine’s education team, and Toya. Dove’s latest partnership announcement is an extension of the Dove Self-Esteem Project and supplements the brand’s ongoing commitment to supporting girls with self-esteem education.

The launch of this new Dove beauty campaign, Real Virtual Beauty, aims to break beauty standards and stereotypes found within the gaming industry and, instead, provide young creators with the tools to help build body confidence and self-esteem thanks to a comprehensive training course. 

So, how is Dove making moves in the metaverse?

Throughout this training course, Dove will be inviting game creators to talk about diversity in everyday life. Training will include a combination of theory, technical and practical elements that highlight the beauty diversity issues faced in video games. In addition to this, Dove is propelling the notion of fostering inclusivity in the metaverse by allowing participants to demonstrate their designs with the launch of the “Real Virtual Beauty” character art collection. 

Keep reading because HOLR is breaking it all down below. 

Girls in gaming: The cold, hard truth 

It’s simple, really. Women and girls are battling self-esteem and body confidence issues through the world of online gaming. 

Misrepresentation is common throughout the gaming industry, in which real-life bodies, skin tones, and different abilities are not being reflected in the characters and avatars we use- even though they should be. As a result, Dove is working towards transforming gaming into a positive space in order to see more games experiences that not only entertain, but also inspire and educate the younger generation. 

With an increasing number of women and girls playing video games- now more than ever before- Dove is continuing its commitment to help create a more inclusive world, now through a virtual lens. 

Dove targets virtual beauty in the metaverse in new campaign

A recent study determined that, in Canada alone, over one-third of Canadian girls’ self-esteem is negatively impacted by the current lack of diversity across avatar characters. As young creators continue to interact with one another through online games and virtual realities, they become increasingly impacted by the visuals they are being subjected to.

Dove has been rigorously committed to supporting and depicting inclusive beauty through all of its endeavors, in which the Real Virtual Beauty campaign represents a modern issue that the brand is willing to stand up and face.  

The latest research conducted by Dove and endorsed by Women in Games demonstrates that a whopping 62% of girls and 57% of women feel misrepresented in video games. Women in Games’ company goal is to build and maintain a fair, equal, and safe environment empowering girls and women in the global video games ecosystem. With such a large portion of the global population of women and girls making up half of the gaming industry, this is an unacceptable realization. 

So, what does this all mean? Dove wants to challenge these feelings of exclusion with an all-new inclusive campaign aimed at building body confidence in gaming as opposed to tearing it down.

Everything you need to know about Dove’s Real Virtual Beauty campaign

The gaming industry is currently taking the world by storm. 

In response to growing interest within the gaming industry, women and girls have collectively broken the glass ceiling- in what was once a male-dominated space- to play a bigger role in these online interactions.

In order to help women and girls feel empowered through gaming, Dove is launching Real Beauty in Games Training as part of its campaign to help boost young creators’ self-esteem. This training and accreditation course- which has been developed in partnership with the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) and industry experts- helps to ensure an inclusive atmosphere in the gaming sector from start to finish. 

Let’s break it down.

As we know, Dove will be conducting a comprehensive training course, where game creators will be invited to talk about diversity in everyday life. This will help avoid contributing to stereotypes and biases in design. Training will feature a combination of theory, technical and practical elements that shed light on different beauty diversity issues faced in video games. For example, these issues will take into account Body Functionality, Appearance, Costume, and Performance.

Dove is really championing the motion to raise the standard for authentic, diverse, and inclusive representation, across all platforms- including the metaverse. Therefore, upon completion of the course, participants will be able to showcase their final works with the launch of an online “Real Virtual Beauty” character art collection. This collection will be curated by Dove and available on Epic Games’ Art Station platform. This is a fun way for creatives to showcase their passion for developing characters and avatars based on real-life diversity. 

In even more exciting news, the brand is also offering a series of grants and awards to the best Real Virtual Beauty avatar designer. In an effort to help fund and expand their work with this opportunity, this incentive will allow avid creators to be featured in some of the industry’s biggest video games.

It doesn’t stop there.

To further propel the notion of championing self-esteem education, the Dove Self-Esteem Project is providing the next generation of creators and players with the necessary tools to help foster self-esteem and body confidence through the launch of SuperU Story. This is the world’s first Roblox experience created in partnership with Toya. 

Developed as an extension of the brand’s Real Beauty Campaign and Dove Self-Esteem Project, SuperU Story has been specially designed to help young girls combat negative self-esteem and build body confidence through a first-of-its-kind virtual experience. It ultimately aims to inspire users to be their true selves instead of aspiring to stereotypes and unrealistic beauty ideals. 

What’s next?

The Dove Real Virtual Beauty campaign is carving out a new sector of the gaming industry- one that advocates for and promotes fair representation across the space. 

Creative ads for the campaign already demonstrate how the brand is looking to disrupt the gaming world, with characters and avatars representing all shapes, sizes, skin tones, and different abilities. Because everyone deserves to be represented- metaverse or otherwise. Dove, in working with partners from the gaming industry, is on a mission to change the face of beauty. 

Through a thoughtful combination of Real Beauty in Training programs alongside SuperU Story and support from industry partners in the space, Dove is making moves in the metaverse- one avatar at a time.

Published by HOLR Magazine.