Beauty is changing. It is no longer just on catwalks or in magazines but in our friends’ selfies or the latest uploads from influencers. Our smartphone screen has become our bathroom mirror. Its meaning is also evolving—in culture, entertainment and social media, people are challenging the status quo, giving their own interpretation of what it means to be beautiful. In one way or another, everybody’s talking about it.
To reaffirm its leading position in this competitive market, SEPHORA has raised its voice to give its vision of beauty: The Unlimited Power of Beauty.
For SEPHORA, beauty is a playground where everyone has the power and the right to experiment and create their own definition. It is limitless, because there are as many beauties as there are people in the world, and the same person can explore many facets of it in a day, or a lifetime. It gives us the power to assert and love ourselves. Beauty is not a standard, a size or a filter, but a tool of power and confidence.
To illustrate this new brand positioning, which gives beauty a prominent role in everyone’s lives, BETC and SEPHORA created a new, powerful campaign that is deliberately different from previous years. The Unlimited Power of Beauty is both very universal in its casting and very intimate in its tone and imagery, allowing viewers to see themselves in the story and discover the potential of their own beauty.
The film, directed by Jonas Lindstroem, tells the story of a women’s relationship with her reflection throughout her life, giving voice to moments of doubt as well as strength. The intimacy and emotion in each exploration of beauty portrays them as personal evolution and growth at each stage of life. The cover of Kelsey Lu’s iconic title “I’m not In Love” was chosen for its emotional power that resonates in everyone.
The prints were captured by Nadine Ijewere, a British photographer with an authentic and dazzling iconography. The images carry the brand’s message while advertising its different departments (perfume, make-up, skin care). Each of these 12 prints tells the story of the richness of beauty, regardless of age, gender, physique or style. All these unique and powerful personalities speak directly to us—each portrait has its own point of view about beauty, with catchphrases like mantras we would repeat to ourselves in front of the mirror.
“The Unlimited Power of Beauty is a signature that delivers a strong, ambitious and all-encompassing view of beauty. It reaffirms the industry’s role, and thus SEPHORA’s position as a leader, and it creates room for self-expression, showing the variety of authentic and powerful beauties that make up today’s world,” Rémi Babinet, Founder, President and Creative Director BETC Group.
For Florence Bellisson, Chief Creative Officer at BETC Etoile Rouge, “Beauty is evolving and no longer has any real requirements. We wanted to produce something true, hence the choice of the diverse casting and creatives. This campaign is both very complete and very SEPHORA because it combines authenticity, emotion and joy. This new vision aims to build SEPHORA’s cultural footprint.”
“The Unlimited Power of Beauty touches people’s hearts because it shows what the power of beauty can create in everyone. It is also an inspiring campaign and brand position for all SEPHORA’s employees—a way to feel invested in a community far beyond sales and performance. We all have this power in our hands. Celebrating the diversity of the beauty industry is part of our brand DNA,” Lisa Attia, SVP Merchandising and Image EME.
SEPHORA, a global brand with more than 2,500 stores in 34 countries and an e-commerce site accessible in 28 countries, is rolling out its new brand campaign, designed by BETC. The Unlimited Power of Beauty will be released in cinema, TV, press, billboards, digital media, as well as in points of sale in European and Middle Eastern countries.
In France, the campaign will be on TV from Sunday evening 23 February on all terrestrial and cab/sat channels, orchestrated by the KR MEDIA agency. From 19 February, the film will be shown in cinemas for 3 weeks and until 25 February on billboards. From 18 February in stores.
