THE CHALLENGE

Narrow beauty standards make it difficult for girls to appreciate their unique beauty, and Black girls are often discriminated against because of their hair texture and styles. Dove research has found that 53% of Black mothers, whose daughters have experienced hair discrimination, say it started as early as 5 years old.

Previous campaigns have rarely merged product and purpose. We wanted to change that with Hair Love. Sparked by the cultural movement around the 2019 Academy Award-winning short film, “Hair Love” and a strong relationship with its creator, Dove wanted to create something to widen beauty definitions and ensure representation of girls with natural hair.

THE STRATEGY

Dove conducted research on children’s self-esteem and the impact of race-based hair discrimination on Black girls. It revealed that kids as young as 3 can start to build self-esteem when they see themselves positively represented in the world around them. By contrast, the impact of hair discrimination on Black girls has a negative impact on how they see themselves, with 81% of Black girls in majority white schools saying they sometimes wish their hair was straight.

With these insights in mind, Dove decided to create a product collection to support Black children and help strengthen their self-esteem. Our strategy was to bridge the nourishing care of Dove, with the continued action of ending race-based hair discrimination with The CROWN Act, so that Black kids can develop a positive relationship with their hair.

THE EXECUTION

Building on the existing relationship with and awareness that Matthew A. Cherry has generated for The CROWN Act – legislation to end race-based hair discrimination – a formal partnership was created and a new set of premium products: Dove Kids Care Hair Love.

Product packaging features illustrations of the ‘Hair Love’ film and main character Zuri in different natural hair styles, along with positive affirmations to help boost confidence and self-esteem in Black children during their self-care routines, in alignment with the Dove Self-Esteem Project mission. In addition to affirmations, each pack features a QR code to sign the CROWN Act petition.

Prior to launch In November 2021, Matthew A. Cherry appeared on Good Morning America alongside Faith Fennidy, who experienced hair discrimination in school, to highlight the prevalence of the issue and call consumers to sign The CROWN Act petition to end race-based hair discrimination.

THE OUTCOME

The collection outperformed retail projections, doubling projected sales in the first two months. Exclusive retailer, Walmart, categorized the products as “Top 5 innovations in textured hair.” In January 2022, the products were in 2,401 Walmart stores nationwide, set to increase to 2,952 within six months.

The product collection has been featured in 20 media stories, earning 483M+ impressions, with headlines in Parents, Black Enterprise, BET.com, AdAge, Yahoo! Lifestyle, etc. Praise for the collection has been shared by influential voices on social media, resulting in 130 earned social posts and 3.4M+ social impressions to-date.