Dove is using women of different shapes, sizes and ethnicities in its latest advertising campaign. Click photo for larger image.

Pssst!

We're going to let you in on a little secret.

Real women have stretch marks.

Real women have not-so-flat tummies.

Real women have curves.

Real women are beautiful.

But can real women sell beauty products?

Madison Avenue is beginning to think so, thanks to a recent ad campaign by Dove that features everyday gals instead of airbrushed, blow-dried cover girls.

The women, featured in print ads and billboards posing in white panties and bras, cover a range of ages, ethnicities and sizes from 6 to 14.

"Our goal, simply put, is we want to widen the definition of beauty," said Maureen Shirreff, North American creative director of the Dove brand.

Shirreff said Dove has been using real women in its advertising since the 1960s, but it's only recently that the company has begun to push against stereotypes.

Last year, it unveiled ads for skin cream featuring women with wrinkles and freckles and tattoos, with the idea being that women don't have to be perfect to be beautiful, Shirreff said.

However, in this body-conscious society, it is the real women in their underwear ads who have garnered the most attention. They've been written about in newspapers, magazines and have made appearances on the various morning news shows.

"We want every woman out there to realize they have potential, and we want to portray those women in our advertising."

Dove, in these particular ads, also wants to sell those women firming cream. Their slogan states "firming the thighs of a size 2 super model isn't much of a challenge."

Some believe this ad copy negates Dove's message that every woman is beautiful.

Shirreff does not.

"Just because they're normal size doesn't mean they don't want beauty products to experiment and play with," she said. "We're saying go ahead, try this product. And here's four or six normal-size women who tried it and liked it."

Deb Boyda, managing partner at Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago, the ad agency in charge of the campaign, said the only criteria for the women selected was that they be "real women," not models.

"We really were looking for a representation of what we think real women are like in the world," Boyda said.

Opinions on the campaign have ranged from "it's about time" to "bring back the impossibly perfect fantasy women."

Overall, Boyda said, most folks are applauding Dove for "showing women the way they really look. They don't need to be airbrushed and don't need to be size 2 to be really beautiful."

And the advertising industry is taking notice, said Kelley Skoloda, director of Ketchum Communication's Global Brand Marketing Practice.

"I will say that this type of reality-based campaign with real women is extremely on trend," she said. "I think it's the wave of the future -- at least for the next couple of years."

Research, Skoloda said, points to women wanting to see more realism in how companies communicate with them.

In a survey last week on AdAge.com, 87 percent of the voters thought more marketers should use real women.

Manufacturers are waking up to the fact that women are no longer a niche market. They control 80 percent of household purchasing decisions, there are more women in the work place and more women earning higher incomes, Skoloda said.

A recent Nike advertising campaign features bodies of "real" women, not just the rail-thin models usually seen in fashion magazines and on billboards. The athletic shoe ads feature close-ups of "Big Butts" and "Thunder Thighs." Nike used a mix of real women found in gyms and other workout scenarios and models. It's about "feeling happy with the body that you have," said company spokeswoman Caren Bell. Click photo for larger image.

Nike has put its spin on real woman in advertising by featuring body parts traditionally viewed as problem areas for women.

One print ad features a close-up shot of a women's bottom with the words "My Butt is Big."

The ad extols the virtues of a large rear end that "10 thousand lunges have made rounder but not smaller." Another Nike ad turns the tables on the term "thunder thighs" by showing a pair of toned, muscular thighs the likes of which would never be found on a runway.

"It's not about the ideal," said Nike spokeswoman Caren Bell. "You can be fit and athletic, and it doesn't mean you have to be [model-thin]."

She said Nike used a mix of real women found in gyms and other workout scenarios and models.

"Working out is about how you feel afterward. It's not necessarily what you look like," Bell said. It's feeling happy with the body that you have because you've put the hard work into it."

Skoloda said the Nike ads, like the Dove campaign, are a good example of the real women trend.

"Women are interested in being the best they can be," Skoloda said. "I think [the Nike ads] play into the best you can be in a real way -- not in a fake or aspiring way."

Ads featuring model-thin subjects that target a younger demographic aren't going away anytime soon, but the real women campaign is likely to remain popular with the 35 and older crowd.

"The reality is," said Boyda, "there's a much broader range of beauty in our society that has not been showcased the way it should be."