LET’S GET REAL ABOUT BEAUTY! Photo-Essay Contest Will Award1820,000 Grand Prize (NAPSA)—Did you know that only two percent of women around the world consider themselves beautiful? Dove, the global beauty brand, discovered this upsetting fact in a recent global study and decided to help change the way people think about beauty. So it launched the Campaign for Real Beauty, a global effort to help everyone, especially women, see that real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, colors and ages. Now Doveis reaching out to the next generation. When girls watch television or movies or read magazines, they are bombarded by “perfect” images of beauty that can lead them to question their own beauty. As part of the Campaign for Real Beauty, Dove is sponsoring a fun nationwide photo and essay contest for pre-teen and teenage girls to help boost their self-esteem and encourage them to focus on the qualities that truly make someonebeautiful. Girls 11 to 17 years old can enter Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty Photography and Essay Contest by taking an original photo of a female whom theyfeel widens the definition of beauty, along with a short essay explaining why. A grandmotherorsister with a great smile...an encouraging teacheror a good friend with a special sparkle in their eyes...they are all perfect subjects for a photo that illustrates real beauty. The contest will award the entry that best exemplifies the spirit of real beauty with a $20,000 U.S. Savings Bond to use y a Essay Contest will award $20,000 Grand Prize. towards education, a Dove gift basket and a three-day trip to New York City to attend The Gracie Allen Awards, a major media industry event hosted by the prestigious American Women in Radio and Television, at which the win- ning photo and essay will be showcased. Nine additional entries will be awarded $2,500 each in U.S. Savings Bondsto use towards education, plus a Dovegift basket. To get some inspiration for taking their photos, girls can visit www.campaignforrealbeauty.com or visit the Campaign for Real Beauty Tour, an exhibition of powerful photos by famous women photographers that capture the “real beauty” of women. From March 11 to May 15, the tour will travel to malls in Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Albany/Syracuse, Hartford/Manchester, and Long Island, New York. Girl Scouts of the USA is encouraginggirls across the country to enter the contest. Dove and the Girl Scouts work together on uniquely ME!, a special program designed to increase self-esteem in girls, especially those in underprivileged communities. Every photo collected throughout the contest will help support Dove's donation to uniquely ME!. Everyone can get involved in the effort to support self-esteem in girls by visiting a participating Wal-Mart June 10-12 and submitting a photo of themselves, which will be taken in-store. All photos collected at participating WalMart stores will help support Dove’s donation to uniquely ME]. Details about the program and a list of participating Wal-Mart stores are available at www. campaignforrealbeauty.com. “I hope every girl will enter this contest so we can help change society's narrow view of beauty,” says America Ferrera who starred in the hit film “Real Women Have Curves” as Ana, a Latina girl who is determined to go to college against the wishes of her mother and whostruggles with herfeelings about her “big” body and its curves. “True beauty is found on the inside as much as the outside. But there are no magazines that say‘love whoyouare on theinsidefirst, and worry aboutthe outside later.” How to Enter For official contest rules and entry form, as well as the photography tour schedule, visit the Campaign for Real Beauty Web site at www.campaignforreal beauty.com. Entries must be received no later than May 16, 2005. There is no purchase necessary to enter or win.
