Courage Is Beautiful

Why it works

Close-up portraits of doctors and nurses, faces marked and creased by long shifts inside masks and protective gear, above three words: "Courage is beautiful." Made by Ogilvy in a matter of days in the first weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, it turned Dove's long-running argument about real beauty towards frontline healthcare workers, and launched Unilever's commitment to donate care products and $5 million to them. The faces were real: the brand asked medical staff directly for permission to use their own photographs. Placed in print and on out-of-home sites, including outside hospitals so the workers themselves would see it, it rolled out to more than 15 countries with local staff in each. It is studied as a brand earning the right to speak in a crisis by staying exactly on its long-held message, and as proof that a print campaign can be almost entirely photography and nearly copy-free. It won both the Print & Publishing and the Industry Craft Grands Prix at Cannes in 2021.