Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

Blog tasks: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

Read these articles on the Sephora campaign: 


Wider reading on Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty

Complete the following questions/tasks:

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

-The campaign is part of the retailer’s broader commitment to advancing racial equity in the beauty and retail sectors.Popular cosmetics retailer Sephora has today launched a new national ad campaign spotlighting the outsized impact of Black innovations on the world of beauty. The campaign’s hero film ‘Black Beauty is Beauty’ spotlights Black stories, communities and cultural traditions behind popular beauty tools and techniques beloved by people everywhere.

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

-When the camera pans over Black women waiting under dryers as the narrator poses the question, “What is beauty without Black beauty?” Repeatedly, Black people create trends and receive no acknowledgement while white industries co-opt and monetise Black genius.

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

-The campaign was across TV networks and digital channels like BET, OWN Hulu, HBO Max and YouTube; branded content and podcast advertising through Vox and New York Magazine’s The Cut; and digital ads across social media networks. 

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 on June 10, 2020 that at least 15% of their shelves for Black-owned brands.

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 were ready to do something about racial equity in the beauty industry. The company R/Ga had signed a pledge where 15% of shelf space is dedicated to Black-owned brands.

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

-They helped share the truth of many of the beauty trends, ingredients, tools, and language we all enjoy, giving black beauty its credit.

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

-The launch film credited Black beauty for the cut crease, the hairbrush, and many more beauty staples we all enjoy.

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?

-Sephora introduces the campaign by saying 'Support & Celebrate Black Beauty' with the background of the banner containing still images from their advert.

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website? 

-3% of brands at major beauty retailers are Black owned
-1% of ventured capital funding goes to black owned businesses
-78% of shoppers across retail industry don't see enough brand owned by or made for people of colour
-2 in 5 shoppers across the retail industry have personally experienced unfair treatment on the bases of their race or skin colour

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

-Garrett Bradley is an American artist and filmmaker whose work focuses on themes such as race, class and the history of film in the U.S. In 2020 she was the first Black woman to win best director of a documentary at Sundance for her film 'Time'.

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?

-Lot's of zoom in's on the Black cultural trends. 

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

-We see a mother doing her daughters hair, a hair salon, dressing room, bathroom and kitchen., which shows how black people are also talented.

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

-Split screen editing represents everyone and captures the varied aspects of Black beauty and culture. 

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

-The verbal codes, the voiceovers that narrate the images that come on screen to not lose track of the audience in order to show them clearly the messages they are trying to reflect. This line up is to avoid confusion or miscommunication that might make their former scandal worse. 

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

-The overall message of the advert is to generate awareness of Black beauty brands and bring people to support and celebrate Black beauty however on the other hand you could argue Sephora focused on this advert to build their brand and possibly even use this advert as a response to their racial profiling scandal.

Media factsheet

Finally, go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #259: Sephora Online Advert - Black Beauty Is Beauty. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

1) Look at the exam hint on the first page. How does Sephora as a brand and the CSP specifically reflect contemporary social and cultural contexts? 

-Sephora does this by emphasising the importance of  commemorating diversity. This further adds to the ongoing movement towards representation in the media of the Black mainstream conventions.

2) Media theory: how are Butler, Gauntlett, bell hooks and Gilroy applied to the CSP?

-Butler's theory of 'Gender fluidity' states that gender is a performance and it shown in the CSP where drag queens, that are male, perform traditionally female rituals by applying make-up. Gauntlett - He states how identity is not fixed and audiences can use media texts to help shape ourselves. The text provides the audience in ways that they could represent their identity. Bell Hooks intersectionality is applied where people are no longer marginalised; instead, “black beauty” is celebrated and recognized for its impact on the industry.

3) What aspects of media language are highlighted on page 3 of the factsheet? 

-Pans, medium close-up shots, split screen, mirror shots, binary opposition, voice-over, warm light, transitions, stereotypes.

4) How does the factsheet summarise the advert on the final page?

-It summarises the advert into its key message of: “Join Sephora in supporting and celebrating Black beauty" to covey ideas of how Sephora is a brand leading the campaign for equality.

5) What are the four ideologies in advertising highlighted in task 8 on the final page of the factsheet? In your opinion, do you feel the Sephora CSP advert challenges or reinforces each of these? 

-The four ideologies are: Consumerism, identity, capitalism and gender fluidity.

-Consumerism - Sephora is a business operating and its marketing campaigns promotes consumerism by encouraging individuals to purchase beauty products

-Identity- The campaign celebrates Black beauty and encourages individuals to embrace their unique identities.

-Capitalism Sephora is still a business with the purpose of promoting Sephora's brand and products in order to increase revenue

-Gender Fluidity- Beauty and grooming products are increasingly marketed in gender-neutral or gender-inclusive ways, challenging traditional notions of masculinity and femininity

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