The Beautiful Filter is Canada’s most popular Snapchat filter. It adds a tint, thins the face and lightens skin. Critics believe it can distort one’s perception of beauty. On March 3rd, 2017, Dove took over Snapchat’s Beautiful Filter so that it didn’t change a thing.

Since 1957, Dove has cared for real women and celebrated real beauty. Now, 60 years later, they have taken another step forward in their mission to help women discover the power of their real beauty and to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. In conjunction with the Real Beauty Pledge, Dove Canada wanted to reach a younger audience on a platform that was highly engaging for their target. Dove’s commitment to Real Beauty is already widespread among women 30+ so its mission was to intercept this younger target, in a captive environment, where its message would best resonate. With millions of women using it daily, Snapchat was a platform ripe for exploration. Snapchat data indicates that the Beautiful Filter is the most used among women – but surprisingly, Ogilvy learned that this same filter is the cause of low self-esteem and a rise in self-consciousness. The Beautiful Filter softens features and thins the face…the opposite of Dove’s Real Beauty message.

Dove’s agency, Ogilvy Canada, approached Snapchat with its idea to “hack” its Beautiful Filter with its Real Beauty message. Instead of adding a bluish tint, thinning the face, lightening the skin and adding lip colour, the filter didn’t change a thing. By raising your eyebrows, the filter would simply add a message to let your real beauty shine – a message all Canadians could get behind. In just 24 hours, the Snapchat filter had over 4 million plays and over 1.3 million story views. Best of all, Dove reached millions of Canadians with its Real Beauty message, and helped them realize that they’re beautiful. No filter needed.