Yet another brand busts beauty myths

More often than not, one is asked – 'What's your type?'.

In its latest campaign titled #Untype, The Beauty Co. urges audiences not to chase these 'types' based on sexuality, height, shape, colour, hair, emotions or any stereotype. In the over two minute long video, the women's grooming e-commerce portal asks audiences to break free from the conventional and idealistic standards set over the decades. In the past, the idea of breaking beauty stereotypes has been the preserve of the likes of Unielver's Dove.

The objective of this campaign is to encourage everyone to reject stereotypical beauty standards and embrace themselves. The campaign that started earlier this month is spearheaded by 90 influencers, including Ashish Bhatia, Ridhi Dogra, Anmol Rodriguez, Meena Gheewala, Naaz Joshi, Anwesh Sahoo, Sushant Digvikar, Shaurya Sanadhya, Kinjal Bhanushali.

About the ideation of the campaign, Suraj Vazirani, founder and chief executive officer of The Beauty Co, says, “With the theme that beauty is inclusive, we wanted to serve a bigger purpose than just selling our products. We wanted to have a heart-to-heart conversation with people about feeling beautiful in their own skin, and to let them know that we find them beautiful, regardless of their shape, size, colour, gender and sexual orientation. Through this campaign, we wanted to talk about breaking ‘types’ and embracing our true selves with love and confidence. Let’s not fall under any type. It’s time to #UnType.”

In its global ad campaign - #ShowUs - the Unilever-owned personal care brand Dove encouraged diversity and authenticity in media representation. The campaign aimed to shatter beauty stereotypes by showing women as they are, rather than as what others believe they should be.

We can't help but also be reminded of a similarly executed ad by Dark is Beautiful - 'India’s Got Colour'.

So, does it work?

Business consultant, Samar Singh Sheikhawat, feels it is not a bad ad. “They are trying to say that we are a beauty company that does not differentiate on the basis who or what you are and we have something for everyone. In that sense, they are a "woke" brand.”

He says what works for the communication is ordinary people and the stark black and white treatment. However, he says he is “not so sure about changing to colour unless colour means something (beauty / light / colour in your life?). Also, the post colour reveal voice-over script is poor. Until that point, the script is strong. The brand flash should have been introduced earlier and better woven into the story to highlight association of the brand/company with the values espoused in the communication.”

He goes on to say, “That said, overall it is different and will appeal to the inclusive millennial generation. The other ad (India's Got Colour) has many celebrities and will probably have higher views. However, the messaging is not clear because of the rap song format. Also, there is absolutely no connection with what is being said and the brand JSW.”

Vidur Vyas, founder of NorthSide, a strategy and execution company that helps scale start-ups and mid-size businesses, feels #Untype is a bold theme that underlines the need to be confident and comfortable with your real self. “The Beauty Co. has covered all social and cultural aspects well in the execution. To be successful and to stand out, they will need to build this campaign fully into a semi-movement, engage with consumers using all forms of media and build this into a larger purpose-based positioning for their brand.”