As Early As Five

Challenge

Dove wanted to create a new brand platform that flipped the script on traditional beauty narratives. They wanted to detoxify beauty. Their brief to us asked, “How can we challenge conventional beauty standards and address issues of self-esteem among young, diverse audiences?” A great internal brief, but it was missing the human truth.

Inspiration

Our research revealed that 53% of Black mothers say their daughters experienced hair discrimination as early as 5 years old.

Idea

This was our human truth that led to “As Early As Five” – a new brand platform and a partnership with The CROWN Act that takes tangible action in the form of legislation that would make race-based hair discrimination illegal in the US. We collaborated closely with filmmaker Aisha Ford, a young woman of color who had not yet directed commercials. She pushed the concept, making it highly authentic, bringing depth and targeting emotion. And together we created the visceral film that launched in 2022.

Growth

While sales results are confidential, the impact of this work is undeniable. In March of 2022, the federal CROWN Act bill passed in the House of Representatives. We gathered 450K+ signatures on our petition and we’re not done yet.