Dove Pulls Breastfeeding Campaign Advertisement

Baby Dove, a Unilever-owned brand has seemed to ruffle the feathers of a large number of Mums. Why? Because of something they stated on more than one their advertisements.

The ad that caused the most uproar read, “75% say breastfeeding in public is fine. 25% say put them away. What’s your way?”

One other stated “So whether you’re among the 66% who think that breastfeeding in public is fine, or the 34% who think otherwise, whatever choice you make, we are with you every step of the way.”

Another shows a crying baby accompanied by text that reads: “36% are for feeding him when he cries, 64% are passionately against it. What’s your way?”

With all businesses now using social media for their product promotions and more, many angry comments were posted on Baby Dove’s Facebook page and Twitter. Some posting pictures of themselves breastfeeding and others turning their pictures into ‘meme” – Adding text to their image stating ‘75% say breastfeeding in public is fine. 25% should say nothing at all’.

The Advertising Standards Authority received a whopping 378 complaints about the campaign!! Due to this, it was ranked the sixth most complained about campaign in the last year. Makes you wonder what could be first!

Unilever made a statement which said, “Our advert, as well as our campaign, aims to celebrate the diversity of parents and parenting choices in the U.K. However, we realize that our message in this instance has not come across as we intended, and we did not mean to cause offense. For this reason we decided to review and stop further distribution of the ads in question.

For more than a decade, Dove has been committed to inspiring women to feel confident in themselves and their choices, and Baby Dove is no different; we believe that ultimately it’s what works best for you and your baby that matters most.”

An ASA spokesman said that even though there were almost 400 complaints, because the ad was pulled directly from Unilever, the complaints won’t go through the official investigation process.

We asked parents over on our Facebook Group what they felt on the adverts, here is what they had to say:

Briony Millar – It honestly baffles me why there is 25% of people that have an issue with breastfeeding in public I have formula feed, I would feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public but if I seen someone else breastfeeding it wouldn’t bother me at all. Maybe if less people had a problem with seeing women feeding their babies then a lot more mothers myself included would feel more at ease about breastfeeding especially in public. I see pictures of people feeding on public and it makes me so happy that they have the confidence to do it and that should be encourage not put down!!

Shonn Ford –  They whole thing about this is that they’re only saying they’re support everyone no matter how they feel…

Emily Day –  It is natural! Absolutely nothing wrong with it, feed your baby wherever you want!

Naomi Patricia – This was a very stupid or very clever (yet to be determined) publicity stunt by Dove. It has got people talking about them and in time people most likely will forget why, but remember they do baby products. Quite simply it is an outrageous advert. It has nothing to do with the product and is claiming to support people who are going against the law. Breastfeeding mothers are protected by law and can feed in any public place. It is discrimination to stop them and Dove should not be supporting that discrimination.

Charmaine Colley –  Breastfeeding in public is natural as it’s feed on demand, so hard to regulate feeds, 9 months and my lb has rough times, but can be different if something has slightly changed.
Feel more comfortable feeding in public than I do in front of in-laws. My OH used to hate me feeding in public, not cause he hated it but he was scared of other people’s reactions. Not had a single bad comment in 9 months thank goodness.

Join the fun at our Facebook group – Bump, Baby and You.
Follow us for updates on Instagram – BumpBabyYou.
Tweet us – Bump, Baby and You.
You can follow my personal account – @BethanyCollings.