This is the last article of the year. I wanted to share something I think fits well with these days.
In 2006, Dove understood something many in audiovisual production forget: that 75 well-produced seconds can change more minds than a thousand generic ads.
They uploaded a video that changed how millions of people understood beauty. The video was called „Evolution“ and it started with a woman sitting in front of the camera in a conventional photography studio.
Stephanie Betts. A cartoonist in her early 30s. Not a model, not an actress. Just a regular person willing to show the reality behind the images we see on billboards.
For the next two hours in that photo studio, a team of makeup artists and hairstylists worked on her face and hair. Every detail studied to the millimeter, until she looked magazine-ready.
Then came the photos. Hundreds of shots under perfect lights in the photography studio. And then the most unsettling part began.
Photoshop.
Stephanie’s neck was digitally stretched. Her shoulders, adjusted. Her skin, smoothed to eliminate any human texture. Her eyes, enlarged. Her mouth, inflated.
The final result appeared on a giant billboard. And Stephanie was completely unrecognizable.
At the end of the video, a simple but brutal phrase:
„No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.“
Days of celebration with family and friends are coming, the laughter that needs no filter and the moments that require no production.
And just like Dove with their message of real beauty, from our photography studio in Barcelona I’d like to wish you happy holidays from the heart.
No generic postcards or retouched studio photos. In a sincere way.
Because sometimes the simple is what matters most.
Thanks for being part of this year.
With this message the year ends and I say goodbye until 2026. After the holidays we’ll talk again. Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy my son and the rest of the family and friends for a few days.
Happy holidays and happy new year 2026.
Marc
the one who also writes L’Atelier d’idées by openbcn studios