Dove partners with virtual influencer to promote body positivity

Dove is encouraging young people on social media to be confident in their bodies and not compare themselves to others in a new campaign starring Lennnie, a virtual ghost-shaped blob with almost 5 million followers between Instagram and TikTok.

Lennnie is an independent creator-blob that has previously made affirming social media posts shared by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Aniston.

Throughout the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Lennnie is putting out three posts across Instagram and TikTok as part of Dove’s Self-Esteem Project. The cutesy blob has sung songs encouraging people to embrace what makes them unique and delivered speeches reminding young folk that they shouldn’t compare their lives to the “cherry-picked highlights of someone else’s.”

@itslennnie @dove and i are back to fill your feed with some love and remind you that you are doing AMAZING, BAYBEEEEEE �� ✨Follow @dove for more from the #DoveSelfEsteemProject ✨ #DoveSelfEsteemProject #DovePartner #DetoxYourFeed #SelfEsteem #lennnie #MentalHealth #Animation #Thanksgiving2023 #Friendsgiving ♬ original sound - lennnie

Razorfish developed the campaign’s strategy and messaging. Dove also worked with Edelman on community management. 

Dove created the campaign to combat the anxious feelings social media inspires in young users, citing that more than half of kids say social media makes them anxious.

“We also know social media can be a force for good,” said Kathryn Fernandez, senior director of purpose and engagement at Dove North America, via email. “We saw an opportunity to boost the self-esteem of young people through content creation with Lennnie—a source of positivity and feel-good content that can help uplift, spread joy and boost self-esteem—especially as we enter into the holiday season.”

Dove opted to work with a virtual influencer instead of a human one because Lennnie is so purely focused on creating content that promotes self-love.

“In a time when our social media feeds are filled with divisive content, Lennnie’s message of positive self-talk and mental health advocacy cuts through and reaches straight into our hearts in ways that few humans can,” said John Antoniello, SVP and executive creative director at Razorfish.

He added that Dove may continue to use virtual influencers as generative AI creates and alters the human form to adjust to meet standards of beauty.

Dove created the Self-Esteem Project in 2004 in partnership with the University of West England’s Centre for Appearance Research. The project is designed to help young people feel good about their appearance.

Last week, Dove partnered with Open Source Afro Hair Library, a 3D model database of Black hairstyles, to launch Code My Crown, a guide to coding Black hair textures in video games.

This story first appeared on PRWeek U.S.