Barry M unveils 'Lash Vegas' mascara campaign

By Echomo Efeyini, campaignlive.co.uk, Friday, 15 March 2013 09:55AM

Barry M, the cosmetics company, is to launch a 2013 ad campaign to promote its new 'Lash Vegas' mascara, which aims to distances the brand from the "serious and formulaic" ads of its competitors.

Barry M: unveils ad campaign

Leek and Lisa, the shop recently formed by freelance duo and former agency creatives Andy Leek and Lisa Morgenthau, is thought to have won the brief for the project ahead of undisclosed established agencies.

Leek and Lisa said the campaign, due to launch on 18 March, is "a reaction against the overly serious and formulaic claims that typify mascara advertising".

The first of the three 30-second ads, entitled "Lash Vegas", starts with close ups of female models posing and dancing on top of a large people carrier. It also features a female model’s eyelashes being painted by two miniature Roman soldiers, while another model poses in a large cabaret-style headdress. Club-style dance music and a bright pink backdrop also feature in the background.

Both team members have significant agency experience, with Andy having started as an in-house designer at Phillips in Amsterdam, before moving on to become an art director at Nothing, a subsidiary of DDB Amsterdam.

Morgenthau was a copywriter at Havas Worldwide (formerly Euro RRCG) before going freelance. She has also worked at the creative agencies Brothers and Sisters, BETC and DLKW Lowe.

The team were appointed after Prime Focus, the company that was to produce the commercial, recommended them to Matthew Sweetapple, Barry M’s brand consultant.

Lesley Queen, who made the recommendation, became the ad’s executive producer and Emil Nava, who has directed promos for the likes of Rita Ora and Jessie J, directed the spots.

All three separate commercials will feature throughout the year on national television during shows including ‘Hollyoaks’ on Channel 4 and ‘Celebrity Juice’ on ITV. The campaign will also be sponsoring 4 Music.

There will also be print advertising, due to come out later in the year in various magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Heat.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk