Dove creates online series about teens and real beauty

GREENWICH, Conn. Unilever’s Dove is challenging the stereotypical views of beauty with a new online series designed to give teens a “reality check” about factors impacting their self-esteem.

Through its Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, the brand has created Dove Reality Diaries that will follow four real girls as they share their personal struggles with self-esteem issues including beauty, boys and body image. According to the company, the series promises to be a revealing first-hand account of the day-to-day challenges teens face in an era where magazine covers are airbrushed and plastic surgery is mainstream.

The six-week online “reality show” can be found at www.doverealitydiaries.com. Blog entries and confessional video diaries will document the girls’ progress. The site also will feature live chats with the four girls and two “talk back” workshops hosted by self-esteem expert and global ambassador for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund Jessica Weiner. In front of a live teen audience, Weiner will help the girls tackle scenarios that can challenge a young woman’s self-esteem and offer tools on how to better handle these situations.