Sephora unveils 'evolved' brand positioning with body-confidence film

Beauty retailer Sephora has launched a new brand positioning with a campaign showcasing the ever-changing face of beauty.

Created by BETC Paris and set to a cover of I’m not in Love by 10cc, "The unlimited power of beauty" follows one woman’s relationship with beauty and self-confidence, from her anxiety-free youth in 2001 to embracing wrinkles and signs of ageing in 2053.

"It seems easier to see how beautiful others are," the three-minute spot declares, as the film floats through five decades of self-perception and confidence. It ends as the protagonist embraces the "power" of being herself.

Debuting on 23 February, the work was written by Xander Smith, art directed by Manon Damelincourt and directed by Jonas Lindstroem through Iconoclast. Media is handled by KR Media. The 90-second ad will be supported by shorter edits.

This is accompanied by a series of prints by British photographer Nadine Ijewere that showcase Sephora's products on a range of ages, genders and skin tones.

"Sephora has a strong DNA, a unique offer and a brand at the heart of innovation," Laetitia Rambaud, brand marketing director at Sephora, told Campaign.

"However, we have changed. If you think you know Sephora, think again. That's what we wanted to say – to claim our brand mission loud and clear, and finally put Sephora back where it belongs: at the centre of beauty."

Last year, Sephora launched "Identify as we", a campaign that focused on the brand’s commitment to non-binary and transgender people through encouraging consummers to use make-up as a creative outlet.

A film called "We belong to something beautiful", which was part of that campaign, was named one of the best ads of 2019 by Campaign US and hailed as "beautiful on the inside and out" by Danielle Koffer, chief client officer at Mindshare US.

Olivier Vigneaux, chief executive of BETC Digital, said: "Beauty is changing. It is less and less that desperate gaze towards an unattainable goal, shaped and retouched to remain unattainable, and more and more a discussion we have with ourselves and the path of self-acceptance and self-love.

"‘The unlimited power of beauty’ is a signature that delivers a strong, ambitious and all-encompassing view of beauty. It is a statement which embeds the endless and extraordinary possibilities of beauty and of Sephora."