In 2004, Dove, a large company in the health product and beauty sector, released a series of print and television ads featuring happy-looking, lingerie-clad women with "everyday" looks. The initial campaign was first launched in the UK, with similar campaigns following in 2005 in the US and Canada.
Proponents of Dove's campaign say that the company is striving to generate change from within the generally weight-conscious advertisement industry. Such persons would say that the ads are in juxtaposition to typical advertisements that almost exclusively feature overly slender models with features corresponding to a European standard of beauty.
Critics charge that it is cynical to promote the beauty of "real" women while also selling lotions designed to reduce the appearance of cellulite to the same audience. Critics also charge that the models, termed Dove Beauties, in the US ad campaign range from size 4 to size 12, while the average woman in the US wears a size 14, and that polls on the Dove website where viewers can vote whether a model is "fat or fab" and "gray (haired) or gorgeous" reinforce the very stereotypes the ad campaign was supposed to overcome.
This term has also been used pejoratively to refer to attractive but largely overweight women.
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