Real beauty: Effects of a body‐positive video on body image and capacity to mitigate exposure to social media images

Objective Recent industry‐created social marketing campaigns have targeted positive body image; however, research investigating the effects of such social media campaigns on body image has largely neglected non‐Western English‐speaking groups. This study explored the effects on body image of a video produced by Dove for a Japanese audience ‘Real Beauty ID’, and its capacity to modify the effects of subsequent exposure to celebrity social media images of young women. Method Young women from Japan (n = 568), mean age (SD) = 25.38 (3.52) years, were randomly allocated to view either the Dove Real Beauty ID video, or a control video, followed by exposure to celebrity social media images (female celebrities or landscapes). Finally, participants reported on state and trait appearance‐based comparisons, thin ideal internalization, body appreciation, and media similarity scepticism. Results Among participants with high levels of thin ideal internalization, those who viewed the Dove Real Beauty ID video reported significantly lower satisfaction with body and facial features, as well as more negative mood (p