Blog tasks: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

 Blog tasks: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

Work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on the Sephora CSP and particularly the wider social and cultural contexts.

Wider reading on Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty

Read these articles on the Sephora campaign: 

The Drum: Black Beauty is Beauty by RGA
Glossy: Sephora celebrates Black beauty in new digital and TV campaign

Refinery29: Sephora’s ‘Black Beauty Is Beauty’ Short Film Celebrates Black Innovation

Complete the following questions/tasks:

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

Sephora is trying to embrace black culture and beauty as it is less recognised.

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

The film shows a white person applying a cut crease, then cuts to a trio of drag queens beating their face, then to vogueing at a drag ball. The message is clear: these trends are Black and queer. From the Black mom who laid our edges as children and taught us to use thick lotions instead of that watery mess, we birthed make-up and skin care with our love and shared it with the world.  

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'? 

Black Beauty Is Beauty doesn’t feel performative. No one feels left out. The film has more inclusion in its under-a-minute runtime than two hour features have in their whole film. Rather than dipping a toe in “diversity,” Bradley and Sephora fully submerged us and created a beautiful film that sees us. And we didn’t even have to wait until Black History Month to be acknowledged. 

5) What is the 15 per cent pledge and why is it significant?
 Sephora pledges at least 15% of their shelves for Black-owned brands.This is significant because they are the first beauty company to introduce this and give attention to black beauty. 

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?

We 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.

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?

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? 

• 3% of brands at major beauty retailers  are Black owned¹ Sephora is committed to dedicating at least 15% of our shelf space to Black-owned businesses. We’ve doubled the amount we carry and won’t stop until we reach our goal.
• <1% of venture capital funding goes to Black-owned businesses² Accelerate is our 6+-month-long incubation program dedicated to growing the pipeline of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led brands in the beauty industry.
• 78% of shoppers across the retail industry don’t see enough brands owned by or made for people of color³ Our Black female founders have incredible stories to tell. Listen to the firsthand accounts of their entrepreneurial journeys in this video series.
• 2 in 5 shoppers across the retail industry have personally experienced unfair treatment on the basis of their race or skin color⁴ We commissioned the first-ever large-scale research study on Racial Bias in Retail today to better equip ourselves to tackle the issue. We recognize that racial bias exists and are committed to ensuring the customer experience is never impacted by it.

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

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?

In order to make the "black beauty" slogan more applicable to what is happening on screen, the advertisement makes extensive use of close-ups, including extreme close-ups. These close-ups may be used to highlight the various products that the people in the advertisement are using or to highlight the "beauty" of the individuals.

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

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

Split screens containing contemporary shots are paired with historical images and editing captures the many facets of Black beauty and culture and reflects everyone. 

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

"Black beauty" is a promotion from Sephora that emphasises the value of Black culture by capitalising the B in black. 

Join Sephora in promoting and appreciating Black beauty by taking the following action on social media or elsewhere. 

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

The overall message is to shine light to black beauty and embracing it.