Know your mind, love your body . . . Celebrate yourself, others will follow . . . there are three billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do' - these might sound like motivational slogans from a self-help book. In fact, they are the latest provocative campaign messages from The Body Shop, the international cosmetics company that produces natural products using natural processes. Step into a Body Shop store and you will see a poster of Ruby, the happily voluptuous doll that is the central image of its self-esteem campaign. The Body Shop said Ruby was part of the campaign to push the debate about the effect the beauty industry was having on women's health and well-being. Any message that counters the more pernicious effects of the fashion industry - which has millions of women dieting around the world and has been blamed for contributing to the alarming incidence of eating disorders such as anorexia - has an admirable aim. But before we get too excited, here is a question: when you buy a bottle of lotion, is it because of its moisturising effect or because you identify with a message that celebrates you as you are? The slogans, of course, have nothing to do with the way the product works, but are part of the brand-building process in which ethics becomes just another marketing tool. The controversy kindled by the confrontation of the two sides in the row also helps raise brand awareness, which in turn may lead to more identification and higher sales. The furore created when the Government banned sale of Body Shop hemp products earlier this year saw its sales of other items shoot up, Body Shop Hong Kong general manager Marcus Tancock said. About 5 per cent of the group's turnover was spent on marketing campaigns, he said. 'Our brand is our most important asset,' he said - although he later corrected himself to put people top. The Body Shop is a pioneer in this field. It is well known for its provocative messages and involvement in socially and environmentally conscious events - perhaps more so than for its natural skin-care products. The first campaign started as early as 1986, with a drive to save whales in concert with ecological activist group Greenpeace. More recently, it has been pushing the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and campaigning against animal testing. The downside of so-called ethical marketing is that it can backfire. Shell Oil is one multinational that has tried rebuilding its brand using an ethical image. Its GBP15 million (about HK$191 million) global corporate reputation programme portrays employees living by Shell's adopted values of environmental responsibility. Ironically, Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop International, slammed Shell's campaign by exposing first-hand information that indicated a gap between the reality and Shell's 'humane' image. As for The Body Shop, it also has been the target of high-profile attacks. In 1994, an article in Business Ethics magazine set out to destroy its ethical-business stance, leaving it badly shaken. Ethical - or confrontational - marketing is a sharp weapon that can cut both ways. The best thing for The Body Shop is to do what it claims for itself: 'We practice what we preach, we walk the talk.' Clara Li