What’s so abnormal about dropping the word ‘normal’?

There’s quite a stir doing the rounds of Unilever dropping the word ‘normal’ from advertising and product packaging all over the world. 

HUL’s beauty and personal care brands have also committed to ending all digital alterations that change a person’s body shape, size, proportions or skin colour, and to increase the number of ads portraying people from diverse, under-represented groups. All this is perhaps giving other brands a complex about why they hadn’t thought about this great ‘insight’ first. The move has been hailed by many from the advertising and media industries as something earthshaking.

How exactly would diversity and a focus on under-represented groups change the brand’s fortunes is yet to be seen. But one of the main reasons why Unilever has perhaps taken this step, lies in a part of their official press release that the scions of advertising have chosen not to comment on, viz. their ‘…beauty and personal care brands have also committed to ending all digital alterations that change a person’s body shape, size, proportions or skin colour, and to increase the number of ads portraying people from diverse, under-represented groups.’

This is a step that’s a game-changer for the advertising and communications business as a whole, viz. bringing in more ‘reality' in advertising and getting real about people.   

Will this in turn inspire other brands to end all digital alternations to their models? Too early to say.

For sure, brand purpose, brand promise and brand aspirations too will have to be redefined. But the first step has been taken and that’s something that we should be hailing. Great move Unilever, its something that's actually out of the normal. But considering the times... its the way to go.

Until next time then.