Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

 Wider reading on Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty: 

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

By illustrating the history of beauty products and how they were mostly created by the black community and the guys who are depicted using makeup in the advertising, Sephora was attempting to highlight everything about "black beauty" and diversity in this campaign.

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

All of the videos of people wearing make-up, including some men, demonstrate the diversity aspect of the advertisement. Some scenes that would be highlighted include the split-screen images of the makeup and the archived image of the salon with black women in them. There is also another split-screen image of a plan of a hairbrush that was made by the black community.

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

To provide black entertainment on American TV, Oprah Winfrey and the BET channels

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

They claim that "instead of dipping a toe in 'diversity'" they are "fully submerged" in it, emphasising how inclusive the commercial is and how no one is left out.

5) What is the 15 per cent pledge and why is it significant?

In order to boost the success of the firms that were being included, the corporation promised that they would seek to have 15% of beauty goods manufactured by black-owned brands.

Advertising agency feature:

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

To "do something about racial equity in the beauty industry," they "already had a plan ready." They had gone to R/GA to discuss how to tackle racism in their businesses and wanted to do more than just put a "black square," but they needed assistance in approaching R/GA about its "commitment" to the issue. 

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

They claimed that "black beauty is beauty," demonstrating that there is only one type of beauty and that it should not be based on race. Additionally, they displayed all of the activities they love in their neighbourhood, including their use of various equipment and fashions in the beauty industry.

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

They demonstrated how the black community had developed beauty items, tools, and fashions such as how they had developed "cut creases," the design of the hairbrush, and many other fashions.

Sephora website: Black Beauty Is Beauty:

1) How does Sephora introduce the campaign?

They begin the campaign by attempting to project an image of inclusivity before discussing how the black community first popularised cosmetics. Additionally, they discuss their "responsibility"

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website?

Major beauty retailers carry 3% Black-owned brands.

-Black-owned enterprises receive fewer than 1% of venture capital funding.

-78% of consumers in the retail sector say there aren't enough brands owned by or designed for people of colour.

2 out of every 5 customers in the retail sector have personally encountered discriminatory treatment based on their race or skin colour.

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

American artist and filmmaker Garrett explores issues like racism, class, and the development of cinema in the US. She became the first Black woman to win Sundance's "best director of a Documentary" award in 2020. The movie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 2021.

Media language: textual analysis:

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

There are a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups in the advertisement, which may be used to highlight the various products that the people in the advertisement are using or to highlight the "beauty" of the individuals in order to make the "black beauty" slogan more relevant to what is happening on screen.

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

We can see that there are more conventional elements, such as the dancers in the funfair costumes, and how some of the historical film reveals the old clothing that they used to wear. Props like hairbrushes are displayed, the first of which were made by the black community. This demonstrates the lengthy history of black culture in fashion and manufacturing, as well as the fact that none of these developments would have been possible without these individuals.

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

In the editing, we can see that there are many allusions to earlier periods, such as the screen wipes and the numerous square boxes, as well as how some of the shots are split-screened to show some older photographs of people in a salon; this is done to contrast the present with the past and demonstrate how far people and the advancement of makeup have come.

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

The phrase "black beauty" is used frequently in the advertisement, reinforcing and empowering the message it is trying to express. It is also clear that the corporation is attempting to connect with the audience by stating that "we can't wait to post." The question "What is beauty without black beauty?" is sometimes used rhetorically.

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

The overarching message, in my opinion, is that if these members of the black community had never created any of these kinds of items, makeup would be far less common and would lack the innovations that have revolutionised it. Additionally, I believe it sheds light on the accomplishments of the black community, the majority of which were previously unknown.

A/A* extension tasks:

How is the Sephora advert an example of recent changes in media representations of ethnicity?

Every other ethnicity seems to be acknowledged, but when it comes to black beauty, the first image that comes to mind is a black horse, therefore it seems as though nothing has changed for the black community over time.

What does the advert tell us about the way new technology is changing the way adverts are constructed?

Because technology has improved and people can access everything from the comfort of their homes on their phones, advertisements are created more for YouTube/online platforms.

Why have brands moved towards online and social media platforms in their advertising?

As fewer people watch television, brands have shifted to online and social media platforms to reach a bigger audience because these platforms are better, more convenient, and more affordable.

How does the idea of ingrained racial bias in algorithms link to some of the postcolonial ideas we have studied recently?

Ellie Bamford, global head of media and connections at R/GA, stated that "the search results and the algorithms are influenced by not only what people are searching for in large quantities, but also what has been in [the] space for the longest time period." We concentrated on ways to affect it using a relatively straightforward but incredibly clever search "hack."