Return to products

Product: Emotions


Dove
The emotions of dry skin


Project design

  • Edge recruiting
  • Deprivations
  • Ethnographies
  • Friendship pairs
  • Documentary-style films

Dove had developed their Dermaseries range for extra dry skin – formulated to hold more moisture. We worked with the brand and their creative agency in developing a campaign that activated the visceral emotional experience of having dry skin.

The lives of dry skin sufferers

To understand all the complex emotions that come with having dry skin, we recruited from the edges rather than the mainstream: extreme dry skin sufferers. We mapped their histories, their daily highs and lows, their inner feelings, to discern what life as a dry skin sufferer was like, in all its nuances.

Multilayered emotions

Dry skin leads to a swirl of different emotions – from the shame of how skin looks to frustration in not being able to treat it, to disappointment in knowing that it’s chronic. These negative emotions are often worked through to more positive feelings – acceptance, trust, calm. This emotions map generated a set of creative territories, which were prioritised and built out.

A new campaign

Our work inspired the creative agency to develop a new product campaign which tapped into deeper emotions to be more engaging for these consumers.