Dove Widens Definition Of Who Should Be Famous And Presents New Role Models To More Than Two Hundred And Fifty Thousand Girls In Washington, D.C.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Girls today are influenced by numerous types of role models, from celebrities, to models and reality stars in pop culture. Millions of real women across the country are positively influencing young girls' lives for the better. Most of these women unfortunately go unnoticed. Dove believes that all real women who are positive role models should be famous. The brand is launching a new national program that celebrates inspirational real women to help girls find and recognize role models in their own lives. The program supports the brand's commitment to inspiring all women and girls to reach their full potential.    

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Dove will introduce four remarkable women who should be famous for the positive lives they lead and the impact they make, on Saturday, June 9, at "Girl Scouts Rock the Mall" in Washington, D.C.  Dove is making these four inspiring real women "famous" to show that everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in a girl's self-esteem. The event celebrates the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. and includes music, song and dance for hundreds of thousands of girls and their moms. Dove supports Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. as both entities share a similar philosophy of helping girls build their self-esteem.

Actress, recording artist, and song writer Mandy Moore joins Dove to introduce these four remarkable women and inspire everyone to make a difference in a girl's self-esteem. Mandy Moore shares the brand's commitment to helping others and improving lives.

"It is critical for all of us to celebrate the real women who make significant contributions to our world and who are remarkable role models for girls today," said Mandy Moore. "Today, I am celebrating the many unsung women across this country by joining Dove in recognizing inspirational women, sharing their stories and motivating others to step up and make a difference when it comes to girls and our future."

Dove will shine a light on the following four remarkable women who were selected because they have made a positive difference in young girls' lives:

• Toni Blackman - a musician, who fell in love with the power of words, became the first Hip Hop Cultural Envoy to travel with the U.S. State Department to help girls and women in war-affected countries find their voice through music.

• Jane Chen - creator of a lifesaving incubator for vulnerable babies in developing countries, is committed to inspiring girls to become more involved in science.  Jane is outspoken on the topic of building one's self-esteem in order to pursue what they love in life.

• Melanie Matchett-Wood – a mathematician, who at age 16 was the first American girl to make the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad Team.  Melanie now inspires young girls to have a passion for their education and how it plays into having confidence in life.

• Lydia Villa-Komaroff - a molecular biologist, Lydia is one of the first Latina women to hold a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Lydia is the founder of an organization that helps champion more Latinos to have the passion and self-confidence in the field of science.

Role Models Make a World of Difference
Statistics show 60 percent of girls who feel bad about their looks disconnect from life and avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school or even giving their opinions.[1] Currently only four percent of girls look to world or business leaders as role models[2] and more than four million girls around the world do not have a role model.[3]  Role models can make a world of difference by helping a girl develop a positive relationship with beauty and encourage her to reach her full potential. 

"When girls do not show up for life because anxiety about their looks holds them back, we do not have future leaders and role models," said Rob Candelino, Vice President of Marketing at Unilever. "Amazing things happen when we come together. This is why we are inviting everyone to become a role model to help girls develop a positive relationship with beauty, so beauty becomes a source of confidence, not anxiety."

Everyone Can Join the Movement
The Dove Movement for Self-Esteem opens up a world of opportunities for women to inspire girls.  It is a movement in which women everywhere can use the tools to take action and inspire each other and the girls in their lives. Everyone will be invited to watch the four women's remarkable stories with a girl in their life on Dove.com and the Dove Facebook page. These videos include a companion viewer's guide where readers can extract valuable lessons on self-esteem and achievement. 

Dove will invite everyone to share their own stories of positive role models in their lives. These role models will then be celebrated on the Dove social media channels-Dove.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Dove has reached more than eight million girls globally with self-esteem programming along with its key partners-Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Girls Inc. The brand has set a global goal of reaching 15 million girls by 2015.  One hour spent with a girl using the Dove self-esteem tools helps the brand track against this goal.

Anyone can join the Dove Movement for Self-Esteem to support the next generation of girls to reach their full potential. Women who wish to learn more about the Dove Movement for Self-Esteem or wish to access self-esteem tools and resources to inspire a girl in their life can visit www.dove.com for more information. These tools and resources include one-on-one activity guides for girls, to a girl's guide to a digital world, and a self-esteem guide for moms of girls.

About Dove
Dove, manufactured by Unilever, is the No. 1 personal wash brand nationwide. One in every three households uses a Dove product[4], which includes beauty bars, body washes, face care, anti-perspirant/deodorants, body mists, hair care and styling aids. Dove Men+Care™ is the newest range of products from Dove, 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 fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Simple, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating over $9 billion in sales in 2011. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

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.

Contact
Sharelyn Devonish
Edelman
212-704-8280
[email protected]

Stacie Bright
Unilever
[email protected]

SOURCE Dove