Dove® Takes Unstoppable Girls To The Top Of The World At The Empire State Building

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- All girls deserve to feel confident about their appearance and yet 6 out of 10 girls stop doing their favorite activities because they feel bad about their looks¹. Dove wants to shine a light on the girls who never stop doing what they love and make all girls unstoppable. The fourth annual Dove Self-Esteem Weekend (October 4^th-6^th) launches today high above the world at the Empire State Building, as part of a global commitment to reach 15 million young lives by the end of 2015 with self-esteem programming. Everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in a girl's self-esteem, and Dove is introducing new self-esteem education tools developed in partnership with the brand's newly formed Global Advisory Board.

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Journalist and talk show host Katie Couric along with girls from Girls Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girl Scouts of the USA join Dove at the top of the Empire State Building to kick off the Self-Esteem Weekend. Together they will 'flip the switch' and illuminate the spire to symbolize the thousands of women who join the Self-Esteem Weekend encouraging girls everywhere to keep doing the things they love. Over the following few days, buildings across the nation will light up in support. The Dove Self-Esteem Weekend is one of the many ways in which the brand furthers its commitment to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety.

Bringing Girls to the Top of the World
The Empire State Building spire will shimmer red, blue, green and white in honor of our national partner organizations and unstoppable girls everywhere. Following the lighting, Katie Couric and Dove Global Self-Esteem Ambassador Jess Weiner will lead a self-esteem workshop with girls and their mentors from Girls Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girl Scouts of the USA. Two unstoppable girls who lead by example will participate in the kick-off event:

• Kid Chef Eliana, cooking since the age of four, will curate a custom menu for the kick-off event.  Eliana is an award-winning cookbook author and host of a global weekly radio show called "Cool Kids Cook," on VoiceAmerica Kids, part of the VoiceAmerica network with over 9 million monthly listeners.
• DJ Diamond Kuts, the first and only female DJ to have a slot on Philadelphia radio, will provide entertainment accompanied by her aspiring 11-year-old mentee DJ Jai.

"It is our shared responsibility to motivate girls and show them that they do not have to let anxiety about their looks hold them back," said Katie Couric. "The fourth annual Dove Self-Esteem Weekend marks a pivotal moment for all of us to commit to helping girls develop the confidence they need to reach their full potential and fulfill their dreams."

Unstoppable Girls Light Up Buildings Across the Nation
During the Dove Self-Esteem Weekend, girls along with their moms and mentors will light up notable landmarks and buildings in their cities in addition to hosting self-esteem workshops. In celebration of unstoppable girls everywhere, the following historic landmarks will be illuminated alongside the Empire State Building:

• Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia
• Baltimore Washington Monument, Baltimore, Maryland

Retailers and Partners Support an Unstoppable Weekend
Retailers across the country have joined Dove in support of the Self-Esteem Weekend to help make girls unstoppable. The purchase of all Dove products supports self-esteem programming with our national non-profit partner organizations, Girls Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Girls Inc.

The following retailers and partners pledge their support to the Self-Esteem Weekend:

• More than 1,000 Walmart stores will support the weekend for the second year by hosting in-store self-esteem activities, along with launching an exclusive first-ever limited edition Dove "Confidence is Beautiful" product collection. The collection includes:
  • Dove® "Confidence is Beautiful" Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash
  • Dove® "Confidence is Beautiful" White Beauty Bar
  • Dove® "Confidence is Beautiful" Cool Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner
  • Dove® "Confidence is Beautiful" go sleeveless Nourished Beauty Deodorant.
• Kroger has expanded its support of the Weekend from last year by providing free self-esteem resources for moms and mentors in over 1,500 stores nationwide, as well as hosting self-esteem workshops for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati.
• Both Facebook and Safeway will host self-esteem workshop events at their respective headquarters in support of the Weekend with members of their local Boys & Girls Club and Girls Inc. chapters. 

"Dove makes it easy for women to help make girls unstoppable and through our self-esteem programming, we hope to open up a world of possibilities so that we can reach millions more girls," said Jennifer Bremner, Brand Building Director, Skin Cleansing. "Amazing things can happen when we all come together."

Dove is also extending a decade long partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA by establishing a three-year partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). The partnership is a joint commitment to empower girls to reach their full potential in life through initiatives that strengthen body confidence and self-esteem so the way they think they look never holds them back. This new program will help 3.5 million girls with self-esteem programming as part of the Dove commitment to reaching 15 million young lives by the end of 2015. To date, the brand has reached over 11 million young people. 

Self-Esteem Education is Available Online and in the Classroom
The Dove Self-Esteem Project was established as an agent of change by educating young people to feel confident about their appearance and build their self-esteem. The development of the Dove Self-Esteem Project resources is guided by the Global Advisory Board, chaired by Dr. Susie Orbach, practicing psychotherapist, writer and co-founder of The Women's Therapy Centre, London and The Women's Therapy Centre Institute, New York. The Global Advisory Board is made up of 11 of the world's leading experts on body confidence and self-esteem. Dove will unveil new self-esteem education tools created by the Global Advisory Board, for mothers, mentors and teachers to help impact the next generation. Additionally, WAGGGS and Dove have developed several new initiatives specifically designed for the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, including, 'badge' and leadership training programs. Further information is available at Dove.com/self-esteem. 

To broaden its self-esteem programming in schools, Dove is partnering with Scholastic to bring self-esteem education to 50,000 teachers in classrooms nationwide that will reach 1.4 million young lives.  Scholastic is launching its efforts with Dove through a self-esteem workshop with notable authors Gordon Korman, Jude Watson and Andrea Davis Pinkney at its flagship location in New York City is being streamed live in classrooms nationwide.

Real Women Everywhere Can Join the Movement
The Dove Self-Esteem Project is a global movement to educate girls to feel confident about their appearance and build their self-esteem. Women who want to join the Dove Self-Esteem Project and participate in the fourth annual Dove Self-Esteem Weekend can do so in several ways. Visit www.Dove.com/self-esteem for more information on events at local retailers and the Dove Facebook page, Facebook.com/Dove, to access free tools and resources specifically created for moms, mentors and teachers to motivate and inspire young girls. These tools and resources include:

• Download a "Positive Self-Esteem Make Girls Unstoppable" toolkit for activities that you and the girl in your life can do together
• Explore newly developed self-esteem tip sheets on the following topics:
  • Family Relationships and Role Models
  • The Media and Celebrity Culture
  • Self-Care and Respect
  • Teasing and Bullying
  • Competing and Comparing Looks
  • Body Talk
• Updated resources for educators, including lesson plans
• Share your story of the unstoppable girl in your life
• Join the conversation in social media with @Dove using #GirlsUnstoppable

About Dove^®
Dove®, manufactured by Unilever, is the No. 1 personal wash brand nationwide.  One in every three households uses a Dove® product, which includes beauty bars, body washes, face care, anti-perspirant/deodorants, body mists, hair care and styling aids.  Dove® Men+Care™ launched in 2010 with products developed specially for men. Dove® is available nationwide in food, drug and mass outlet stores.

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries.  Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis.  In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragu, Simple, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone.  All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact.  We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact.  Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets.  See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/ or http://www.unilever.ca/sustainable-living/.

Unilever employs more than 12,000 people across North America – generating over $10 billion in sales in 2012.  For more information visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

About Boys & Girls Club of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens.  Today, some 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serve nearly 4 million children and teens through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide.  Clubs provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours.  Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.  In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.  Learn more at bgca.org/facebook and bgca.org/twitter.

About Girls Inc.
Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.  Research-based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all-girl environment equip girls to achieve academically; lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.  The network of local Girls Inc. nonprofit organizations serves 125,000 girls ages 6 - 18 annually across the United States and Canada.  Learn more about our programs and advocacy at www.girlsinc.org.

About Girl Scouts of the USA

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide.  According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, approximately one in every two adult women (49%) in the U.S. has at some point been a member of Girl Scouts.  Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.  The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories.  Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries.  For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 800-GSUSA-4-U or visit www.girlscouts.org.

¹ Dove® Global Research: The Real Truth About Beauty

Contact:
Marissa Florindi/Edelman
212-704-4477
[email protected]

Stacie Bright/Unilever
[email protected]

SOURCE Dove