Yet another brand busts beauty myths

A look at The Beauty Co.'s latest spot - #Untype - that aims to break beauty stereotypes.

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.

Also Read: Dove shatters all unrealistic beauty standards yet again through its #ShowUs campaign

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We’re breaking beauty stereotypes around the world with @girlgaze and @gettyimages 🌎 but we couldn’t do it without the amazing women and non-binary individuals in front of and behind the camera 📸 As the world’s largest stock photo library to shatter beauty stereotypes and create a more inclusive vision of beauty, Project #ShowUs is making waves 🙌 And we’re so happy to have been awarded the Silver Glass Lion for Change at @cannes_lions Festival of Creativity – an award that celebrates ideas that challenge gender inequality and make a positive impact on the world 🦁 So far, over 7000 of our images have been downloaded in over 40 countries and counting, by 938+ companies… This is just the beginning and we can’t wait to see more 💙 #Dove #RealBeauty #ShowUs #CannesLions #Unstereotype #CannesLions2019 #Change

A post shared by Dove Global Channel 🌎 (@dove) on Jun 26, 2019 at 7:29am PDT

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Today is #WorldVitiligoDay - a date where millions of people across the world come together to raise awareness of vitiligo ❤️ Here are the stories of Beatriz, @renatacadilhe, @marielenander, Zenazi and @nutopiabynuriatorrente ❤️Reminding us that beauty can be whatever we want it to be, they’re redefining the ideal of ‘perfect skin’ and inspiring others to love themselves too. Swipe right to read👉 @girlgaze 📸: @isabelladiasx 🇧🇷, @jabunewman 🇿🇦 💻: @gettyimages #Dove #RealBeauty #Vitiligo #VitiligoAwareness #BodyPositive #BeautyStandards #BodyConfidence #ShowUs

A post shared by Dove Global Channel 🌎 (@dove) on Jun 25, 2019 at 6:24am PDT

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@theisleofparadise are pushing their body acceptance agenda, in the most beautiful way 😍 ‘Get Body Posi’ is their commitment to making body acceptance a top priority in the beauty industry 👏 Centered around a free handbook, their campaign helps people break free from body shaming and comparison culture 🙌They’re raising money for mental health charity @mindcharity too – something we can’t help but shout about 📢 @zoemcconnell :📸 #Dove #DoveLoves #RealBeauty #GetBodyPosi #Individuality #AllBodiesAreBeautiful #EveryBodyBeautiful #BodyPositivity #SelfConfidence #BodyPosi #BoPo #Glowing

A post shared by Dove Global Channel 🌎 (@dove) on Jul 31, 2019 at 2:06am PDT

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.”