Dove looks for 'flawless' women on Craigslist

Dove responds with anger after an unapproved casting call is posted on Craigslist

For the past six years, Dove has become famous for its 'Real Beauty' campaign featuring 'real women' with real curves.

But their positive image and refreshing principles came under threat this month when a rogue advertisement appeared on Craigslist, appealing to women with 'flawless skin, no tattoos or scars' to take part in a New York photo-shoot.

A spokesperson of Dove says: 'Unfortunately, this casting notice was not approved by the brand or agency team and did not reflect the spirit of the brand team's vision.

'We appreciate that this has been brought to our attention, and we are taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future.'

Although the casting call made it clear that Dove is looking for non-professionals, the requirements were relatively strict and specific.

At one point, the American ad insisted women must be ‘well groomed and clean...Nice Bodies...NATURALLY FIT. Not too curvy, not too athletic.'

Dove's spokesman continues: ‘We believe our images demonstrate that real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, colours and ages and we remain committed to featuring realistic and attainable images of beauty in all our advertising.'

Media commentators have remarked that an advert written almost entirely in CAPS and exclamation marks, as this one was, can't be taken too seriously.

How do you feel about Dove's iconic campaign and how it is effecting female body image? Should other brands be following their lead, or do you believe that slim and pretty models will always take precedence?

Whatever your opinion, Marie Claire wants to hear from you by posting a comment below.