(Pocket-lint) - Dove has designed a clever "trojan horse" Photoshop action which removes retouching performed on an image, with the goal of reverting models back to their original, natural state.

The action was seeded out through the internet as a "beautify" filter, which when applied was said to automatically add a skin glow to an image. A preview was set up to dupe retouchers, designers and photographers into downloading the free filter.

Those who did download and apply it were in for a surprise: not only does the action undo adjustments made in Photoshop, it also comes complete with a "Don't manipulate our perceptions of real beauty" overlay. Cheeky, but fun.

It's part of Dove's long-running "campaign for real beauty" in which the toiletries brand tries to show a healthier, more democratic view of beauty.

The thing is that the Photoshop action wasn't really picked up as much as Dove might have hoped. Reddit was one of Dove's main selling points for the beautify filter, but it was unleashed into the wrong section of the site and picked up no replies.

It seems that retouchers already have their bank of tools available and didn't bite the dangling carrot. Still, Dove did a good job of coming up with an interesting piece of viral advertising.

If you fancy giving the filter a go, or feel that you want to comment, head over to the Dove Reddit post where it's available to download.

Writing by Hunter Skipworth.