Dove’s 'mothermonials' campaign encourages re-writing matrimonials for daughters

For the past three years, Dove has led a campaign in India called #StopTheBeautyTest, aiming to challenge beauty biases faced by women, especially in arranged marriages. In the latest edition, Dove showcases four mothers who rewrite their daughters’ matrimonial profiles to focus on personality, preferences, achievements, and ambitions instead of physical appearance, introducing 'mothermonials'.

These 'mothermonials' aim to change how daughters are described in matrimonial biodatas, shifting the emphasis away from height, weight, and colour. The campaign encourages mothers and daughters to lead this change, providing a more positive experience in finding life partners.

Dove started this conversation in 2021 by highlighting the beauty tests women face in marriage. In 2022, the campaign addressed the appearance-based anxieties in adolescent girls. This year, with #TheBeautyTestStopsWithMe, Dove calls on mothers and daughters to rewrite matrimonials.

As part of the initiative, Dove released four films featuring conversations with four mothers from across the nation, highlighting beauty biases in arranged marriages. Partnering with a media house and Mindshare, Dove uses AI to help create customised mothermonials that focus on education, hobbies, and quirks rather than physical attributes.

Additionally, the Dove Self-Esteem Project, in partnership with UNICEF, aims to reach over 23 million students in India by 2026, improving their body confidence and self-esteem. 

Sharing more insight, Harman Dhillon, Executive Director, Hindustan Unilever, and Beauty and Well Being General Manager, Unilever South Asia, said, “Dove is on a mission to ensure the next generation grows up with body confidence, self-esteem, and a positive relationship with the way they look. Through these campaigns, Dove has urged and provoked the country to stop the beauty test for two years now. In  2024, we continue to build on our efforts by encouraging mothers to lead the change and daughters to challenge the very format of biodata that is the perpetrator of beauty-based biases. We aim to revolutionize traditional matrimonials into empowering ‘mothermonials’ that inspire society to see daughters beyond stereotypes. Through this campaign and the Dove Self Esteem Project, Dove is committed to taking tangible actions that help address biases and inspire body confidence amongst  young girls and women.” 

Zenobia Pithawalla, Senior Executive Creative Director & Mihir Chanchani, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy added “In our country even today parents put out matrimonial ads or biodatas for their eligible daughters. Tall, slim, and fair rear their ugly heads in the first two lines. At Dove, we approached mothers who wanted their daughter’s matrimonial ad to be different from hers. These mothers of India joined hands with us to write matrimonial ads without beauty biases. We brought mothers on the frontline, to protect every daughter of India from the ugly Beauty Test. With this began the change from  Matrimonials to Mothermonials.”