Moms and daughters sit reverse one another in a dimly lit studio, speaking candidly to the digicam to mark the twentieth anniversary of Dove’s iconic “Real Beauty” campaign, whereas movies from the long-running initiative flicker on a display. However this isn’t an anniversary spot from Unilever: it’s a spoof advert from Greenpeace U.Ok.

“Poisonous Affect: The Darkish Facet of Dove” takes a swipe on the CPG large’s use of throwaway plastic. In keeping with a Greenpeace International report, Unilever sells the equal of 1,700 super-polluting plastic sachets per second, with Dove alone producing 6.4 billion sachets in 2022.

The video, directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Alice Russell, mirrors Dove’s 2022 “Toxic Influence” spot, which used deepfake technology to expose social media’s harmful influence on younger girls, sparking a dialogue with their caregivers.

This time round, although, there’s a twist. Greenpeace first exhibits moms and daughters sharing their constructive reactions to Dove’s inclusive, purposeful advertising, earlier than revealing their response to clips that lay naked the impression of plastic air pollution and movies that accuse Unilever of being “one of many largest plastic polluters on the earth.”

The video ends: “If Dove actually care about girls and women, it’s time they cease poisoning our planet with plastic.”

In a press release reacting to the marketing campaign, Unilever mentioned: “Our ambition at Unilever is evident: an finish to plastic air pollution by discount, circulation, and collaboration. We acknowledge the essential position that we play to assist make this ambition a actuality – which is why plastic is certainly one of our 4 sustainability priorities.”

The enterprise mentioned it had already diminished its virgin plastic use by 18% and elevated its use of recycled plastic to 22%.

“Nonetheless, our work is way from over,” a spokesperson added. “Our up to date plastic targets are stretching and deal with the areas that we all know may have essentially the most impression, reminiscent of persevering with to cut back our virgin plastic use and creating alternate options to hard-to-recycle versatile plastic packaging, like plastic sachets.”

CPG sustainability below the microscope

Greenpeace in the end desires Unilever to part out single-use plastic and transition to reusable supplies within the subsequent 10 years. It’s additionally calling on the corporate to advocate for this on the upcoming UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, the place it co-chairs the Business Coalition.