• Ad Age, Monday, September 24, 2007 11:45 AM

After two years of double-digit sales growth and share gains resulting from its widely admired Campaign for Real Beauty, Dove's sales have abruptly slowed. The decline coincides with the February Pro-Age launch featuring Annie Leibovitz' photographs of grandmothers in the buff in Ladies' Home Journal.

After growing 12.5% in calendar 2005 and 10.1% last year, Dove sales are up only 1.2% to $604 million for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 12, according to Information Resources Inc. Dove also lost 0.3 share points. In the 24 weeks ended Aug. 12, sales are flat and share is off 0.4 points compared to a year ago.

The decline raises the question of whether the campaign--hailed as one of the most courageous creative breakthroughs in recent years--went a step too far in embracing aging in all its naked, wrinkled and sagging glory. Suzanne Grayson, a longtime beauty-industry consultant, believes the concept appeals to many women, but embracing unvarnished aging when anti-aging products dominate skin care is risky.

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