For over 20 years, Dove’s Self-Esteem Project has launched campaigns that focus on empowering young girls. The project is a social initiative taken by the corporation to develop and boost the confidence of young people. On International Day of the Girl, October 11, Dove announced its new campaign titled Change the Compliment. This new movement challenges the norm of how young girls are complimented and has the potential to change their perception of how they fit into society.

Specifically, the campaign calls for emphasizing attributes in youth that have nothing to do with their physical appearance because “girls are so much more than just beautiful,” as Dove puts it. In an interview with The Drum, Dove’s Chief Growth Officer, Marcela Melero, said that “one of the most powerful truths our research has revealed is that low confidence in appearance doesn’t begin in adulthood–it takes root in childhood.” This same research indicates that solely praising a girl’s appearance will lead to self-esteem issues and a lack of body confidence later in life. Melero is not telling people to abandon the idea of compliments based on beauty but rather urges them to “praise girls for what their bodies can do, as well as how they look.”

The marketing video for Change the Compliment’s has made a massive impact. Directed by Haya Waseem, the minute-long video combines found footage from the past with newly filmed footage to weave together a story that shows the audience how to reimagine the way girls should be complimented. Using a variety of languages, the video’s message has resonated with viewers around the world. The goal of the campaign  film was to “spark a cultural conversation to change how people see what they’ve always accepted,” said Emily Garvey, Head of Strategy at Zulu Alpha Kilo New York, who worked as a creative consultant for Dove. On social media platforms like CapCut and Instagram, Dove has created ways to interact with the campaign and spread awareness about its purpose.

Not only has #ChangetheCompliment made waves online, but it has gained relevance in the world of sports. AFC Toronto, a professional women’s soccer team that plays under Canada’s Northern Super League (NSL), recently partnered with Dove to spread the campaign’s message. On Sunday, October 19 during the team’s Fan Appreciation Match, the players debuted their new “empowerment jerseys.” In the place of a last name, the back of each jersey contained a word that the player felt empowered by. For example, captain Emma Regan chose the word ‘confident’ because during her childhood, she “was always taught to stay humble.” However, Regan wanted to highlight the difference between confidence and humility, saying, “I hope that when young girls see me wearing ‘confident’ on the back of my jersey, they feel empowered to own that confidence for themselves.”

Similarly, Dove’s Body Confidence Sports program in Germany is partnering with local sports teams to highlight the campaign for young girls. Through these local teams, girls can customize their own T-shirts to include an empowering word that they feel fits them best.

While the campaign is still relatively new, it can be expected that it will spread throughout global athletics. With women’s sports growing in popularity worldwide, increasing amounts of young girls are looking up to professional female athletes. It is crucial that these athletes use their platform to stress that girls are not only beautiful but also “kind and clever” and “strong and creative.” Women and young girls alike are so much more than the narrative they’ve been written to fit into, and there is no better time than now to remind them of that fact.