Advertising: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

 

1) What was Sephora trying to achieve with the campaign?

To show their support to black traditions and cultures

2) What scenes from the advert are highlighted as particularly significant in the articles?

trends in fashion such as glitter

3) As well as YouTube, what TV channels and networks did the advert appear on?

BET (Black entertainment television)

OWN (Opera Winfrey Network)

4) Why does the Refinery29 article suggest the advert 'doesn't feel performative'? 

Nobody was left out and there was full support shown

5) What is the 15 per cent pledge and why is it significant?
At least 15% of their shelves for Black-owned brands. helps smaller businesses.

Advertising agency feature

The Black Beauty Is Beauty advertising spot was created by global creative agency R/GA. Look at their website feature on the project and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Sephora approach R/GA to develop the advert?

Sephora came to R/GA ready to do something about racial equity in the beauty industry. The company had already signed the 15% pledge—a commitment to dedicate at least 15% of shelf space to Black-owned brands. It had already commissioned a study on racial bias in retail and was making plans to combat bias in its own stores. Sephora was doing the work above and beyond posting a “black square,” but needed our help to talk about its commitment.

2) What was the truth that R/GA helped Sephora to share?

Helped Sephora share a truth Black people have known forever: The ingenuity and influence of Black people have led to many of the beauty trends, ingredients, tools, and language we all enjoy. In short, Black Beauty Is Beauty. It was time to give credit where it’s due and encourage the beauty industry to do the same.

3) How did the advert 'rewrite the narrative'?

The work was equal parts thesis and campaign spelling out the influence of Black beauty culture on mainstream beauty. Our launch film credited Black beauty for the cut crease, the hairbrush, and many more beauty staples we all enjoy. An editorial partnership with The Cut and an SEM takeover allowed us to continue sharing that history and giving Black beauty culture the credit it deserves.

Sephora website: Black Beauty Is Beauty

Visit the Sephora website page on Black Beauty Is Beauty. Answer the following questions:

1) How does Sephora introduce the campaign?

At Sephora, we believe in championing all beauty, living with courage, and standing fearlessly together to celebrate our differences.

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website? 

3% of brands at major beauty retailers are Black owned

<1% of venture capital funding goes to black owned businesses 

78% of shoppers across the retail industry dont see enough brands owned by or made for people of colour

2 in 5 shoppers across the retail industry have personally experienced unfair treatment on the basis of their race or skin.

3) What do we learn about Garrett Bradley - the director of the advert? 

Garrett is an American artist and filmmaker whose work focuses on themes including race, class, and the history of film in the US. In 2020, she was the first Black woman to win best director of a documentary at Sundance for her film Time. The film was also notably nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards. This is her commercial debut.

Media language: textual analysis

Watch the advert again and answer the following questions that focus on technical and verbal codes. Use your notes from the lesson to help you here.  

1) How does the advert use camerawork to communicate key messages about the brand?

Close ups on the different kinds of makeup.

2) How is mise-en-scene used to create meanings about black beauty and culture?

the use of a mostly black cast, the variety of makeup.

3) How is editing used to create juxtapositions and meanings in the advert?

The immediate cuts to a variety of different people using the same techniques.

4) How are verbal codes used to create meanings in the advert - the voiceover and text on screen? 

The voice over creates a narrative for the viewers telling them about sephoras aspirations.

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

Black Beautys heavy significance to the fashion scene of this century.

Media factsheet

Finally, go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #259: Sephora Online Advert - Black Beauty Is Beauty. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

1) Look at the exam hint on the first page. How does Sephora as a brand and the CSP specifically reflect contemporary social and cultural contexts? 

It allows us to have a discussion about race and ethnicity that is sometimes overlooked in advertisement..

2) Media theory: how are Butler, Gauntlett, bell hooks and Gilroy applied to the CSP?

Judith Butler: Gender fluidity

Gilroy: Postcolonial theory

David Gauntlett: Identity

Bell Hooks: Intersectionality 

3) What aspects of media language are highlighted on page 3 of the factsheet? 

Pans, medium close-up shots, split screens, mirror shots, binary opposition, close up, warm light, voice over, transition, stereotypes, montage, picture-in-picture, cultural appropriation, misrepresentation, editing.

4) How does the factsheet summarise the advert on the final page?

The advert deviates from the conventional focus on individual products or brands and instead centres on the message of inclusivity and diversity.

5) What are the four ideologies in advertising highlighted in task 8 on the final page of the factsheet? In your opinion, do you feel the Sephora CSP advert challenges or reinforces each of these?

Consumerism: The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods 

Identity: A person’s sense of self, meaning how they view themselves compared to other people

Capitalism: An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production

Gender fluidity: Denoting a person who does not identify themselves as having a fixed gender

I think Sephora reinforces each of these. This is because of their constant support of the black culture, trying to tell people how influential it really is.