When the Kindle first debuted, it did so with a memorable campaign that featured a woman and used stop motion to tell a story. The idea was to breakthrough in a creative way, as the product at the time was creative and breakthrough. It was inspired by previous YouTube stop motion viral videos online and inspired more YouTube stop motion videos afterwards. Without going into too much detail on the product benefits, the campaign created a name for the brand with this memorable concept. But now in efforts to keep up with Apple, the new Kindle Fire advertising is being more competitive and more demonstrative—taking a cue from the Apple brand playbook. Now, while the voiceover and copy are emotional in the Kindle Fire spot it is more about how great the product is and how many apps it has. I wish, Kindle would have stayed with a fresh approach and just added some more product benefits without going to the tired “anthem” format. Apple is continuing to do simple television demonstrations with their products in a clever way that seem to resonate with men, women of all ages. And with ads like the one featuring Zoe Deschanel talking to her new bestie, Siri, apple continues to spurn spin offs in the viral world of YouTube like this duet with Siri. So which do you think is the most effective way to engage women with a tech product?  A great concept, great demonstration or a great anthem?

Want to see more, check out my first post in my series 20 examples of marketing to women that connects.

In October, our creative director Laurie Hix mourned the passing of Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign. For seven years, Dove had celebrated women with body fat, freckles, wrinkles, gray hairs, and other “flaws.” In the first two months of the campaign, Dove’s U.S sales increased by 600 percent, illustrating the immense power of brands that know how to market to women.

After that, the company launched a self-esteem saver and continued to redefine beauty. It made many women, including me, very, very happy.

When Dove shifted gears and started producing spots with sassy, skinny women soaping up in the shower, Laurie wrote, “It seemed like all the progress they made just evaporated.”

Well, it seems Dove got the message. If the company was seeking redemption with its new video, it has succeeded in spades. The film instantly went viral, with almost 3.5 million views as I write this. A 6.5-minute version has gotten almost half a million views. And while I’m at it, Dove’s Facebook page has more than 13.7 million likes, which blows competition like Olay’s 1.6 million likes away.

The video portrays women who’ve been partnered with a stranger for reasons unknown to them. After spending some time together, each subject goes into a sunny loft and describes herself to a forensic artist. The artist is separated from the subjects by a screen and draws their images based on the subjects’ descriptions only. Next, the partner describes this same woman to the artist. Then the subjects come and view their two sketches side-by-side. Invariably, the self-described portrait looks heavy, unattractive, and downright melancholy compared with the prettier pictures made with input from the strangers.

As the women view their sad self-images, their faces fall. One of them even cries. I must admit, when I watched it, I teared up, too.

The message at the film’s end, accompanied by quiet piano music, is, You are more beautiful than you think.

I’m excited by Dove’s return to its Real Beauty roots for a couple reasons:

1. Money Talks
   Such a quick reversal might indicate that Dove’s sales fell when they started using conventionally beautiful models instead of women who were both beautiful and (take your pick) short, flat-chested, overweight, or older.  This shows that a cultural shift has indeed happened. In addition, a powerful branding phenomenon has happened. Dove spent years carefully and even lovingly building a brand around this idea of real beauty. They sent positive messages in both their advertising and their products like the lotion they named Pro-Age instead of Anti-Wrinkle.

   That’s why women felt so connected to the Dove brand—and why they may have stopped buying when the Real Beauty ended.

2. The Expansion of Advertising
   These videos (you can choose between a 1.5 minute version, a 3-minute one, and a 6.5-minute one) are not commercials. They are films, with a narrative arc, beautiful art direction, and a real emotional impact. (Have any of your Facebook friends shared the video with the comment, “This made me cry?” Several of mine have.)

   Dove isn’t pushing product here. They don’t even mention a product, or the Dove name, other than a brief flash of the logo at the end. Yet the impact on the brand is massive.

This shows me just how powerful it can be to think both outside the box and in long-range terms when you’re molding a brand. If we’re brave, genuine, and give our target audience—women—what they really want, we can achieve big, big things.

When Dove does a more conventional soap sell, as Laurie pointed out, it looks just like its competitors. It’s when the product takes a step back—and lets the beauty of real women shine—that the brand really stands out.

I hope the instant success of this video encourages Dove to stick to its guns—to connect to women in a unique, respectful, and beautifully real way. In short, to make an emotional connection.

It’s always been tough getting Medicaid moms to their prenatal and well–baby visits. Which is why UnitedHealth’s new game, called Baby Blocks, is a great idea. When moms attend prenatal and well-baby check-ups (which is easier said than done), they get to unlock “blocks” in the game.  And voila, they are rewarded with gift cards for much-needed baby related stuff. Like maternity clothes, diaper bags and baby apparel. Pretty spot on for this younger, low-income, yet gaming-savvy, target. And it seems to be working, as 2296 members used the Baby Blocks pilot in 2012, logging 7098 prenatal appointments (an average of 3.1 prenatal blocks per member).

The rise of healthcare gamification can be attributed to the rise in smartphone and social media use and related desire for engagement. “Using motivational techniques from games is part of it, as is creating engaging experiences for people,” says Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics. In the Pew Future of Gamification report, neuroscientists claim that "interactive design elements can cause feel-good chemical reactions and in certain situations can improve learning, participation and motivation."

That’s the intent behind HopeLab’s Re-Mission, a video game developed specifically for adolescents and young adults with cancer. Nanobot, Roxxi, travels through fictional cancer patients destroying cancer cells, battling infections and managing side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment. Research shows the game has been an effective tool for young cancer patients, now distributed to over 185,000 patients worldwide.

A related tool worth applauding is the pain diary app, called The Pain Squad, developed by The Hospital for Sick Children. This innovation was designed to help pediatric cancer patients track and address their pain. How intense it is, how long it lasts, where it hurts, how it impacts their mood and daily activities, and what helps to treat it. Since inadequate assessment and patient reluctance to report pain are the biggest barriers in pain treatment, the goal is to make it easier for kids to track their symptoms by using technology that’s fun and familiar. And the hope is better pain management and quality of life for these youths.

It seems in many cases the ramification of gamification in healthcare is improved health status. Let us know if you have any favorite healthcare games or apps that are  helping people.

Some marketing goes beyond building brand awareness, but builds something more: a bridge to change the culture in which we live. The Real Beauty Dove Campaign did exactly that. They took a brand that was just a generic soap that had been around for ages, and reinvented it for a new generation. But before they introduced the line of shampoos, they got into the heads of women. After conducting a global research study, they challenged the idea of beauty. They championed a new idea of beauty. And in doing so, changed the way we thought about beauty, the Dove brand and ourselves.

I remember when the video, Evolution, went viral. It was so powerful; I immediately shared it with my friends and my daughters. I remember how the print in its raw, in your face state, stood out amidst the beauty ads in magazines. And I marveled, as a marketing to women marketer, the social and cultural effect the campaign had. It made me proud of being in the business to see a company do something so noble as they did through their campaign, their social mission films and their commitment to redefine beauty and boost the self-esteem of young girls.

But lately, as Dove abandoned the “Real Beauty” campaign, for something less controversial and more “fresh,” with the “Go Fresh” campaign, it honestly bummed me out. They were just like any other brand in the category. And while they stayed true to their social mission with programs like “The Dove Mission for Self-Esteem,” it seemed like all the progress they made just evaporated. Gone is the emotional connection, the cultural phenomenon, the brand that went beyond, and all we are left is just the product shot on limbo with cucumbers. It’s disappointing that a brand that connected so deeply at one point with its audience is now so unconnected and simply just selling soap. It may be clean. It may be safe. But I prefer the Dove that got its hands dirty making a difference.

Want to see more, check out my first post in my series 20 examples of marketing to women that connects.