09.06.11
Bare Escentuals will roll out a new ‘Be a Force of Beauty’ campaign this September, featuring five women that were found via the brand’s first ever blind casting call.
Based on a final round of in-depth blind interviews, Bare Escentuals selected five women to feature in the campaign.
Making its debut in September, each of the women will appear in tailored iterations of the campaign that will be supported by TV, print, digital and social marketing efforts. The move is also a departure for the brand as it has traditionally featured its bareMinerals foundation in its marketing efforts.
Conceptualized with TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles, the blind casting callcommenced with a pool of nearly 300 models and actresses, all of whom received a survey of six questions designed to discover more about their personal passions and values. After reviewing the questionnaires, the pool was narrowed to 78 women who were then brought in for individual blind interviews with questions intended to reveal dynamic character, vitality and strength in effort to reveal an inherent “force of beauty,” according to the brand.
“This campaign is really designed to inspire and activate women to put beauty into action by giving them a voice and championing the individual stories that represent their own ‘force of beauty,’ said Simon Cowell, global CMO for Bare Escentuals. “Therefore, our approach in identifying these women became profoundly important, and it required a level of authenticity to defend our driving belief that beauty goes beyond the surface.”
Stripped of all visual cues and never seeing a single face, Bare Escentuals remained behind a wall listening to each woman answer the blind interview questions, seeking women who not only shared similar values with the brand, but whose beauty became palpable through their personality and the compassion, honesty, confidence and genuineness conveyed in their responses. The wall dividing the women from the brand became the symbolic construct allowing Bare Escentuals to delve deeper into this honest appraisal of beauty which would ultimately carry the campaign, the company said.
“This is pretty revolutionary and unheard of for a beauty company,” said Leslie Blodgett, executive chairman of Bare Escentuals. “Let’s be honest, there was a high level of risk associated with this approach and I had no idea what to expect. What I discovered was how liberating it is to do the right thing and choose women based on their values, not the way they look. We love women and their stories and it reinforces everything we stand for, and frankly, I think the models were equally enamored with our approach.”
Based on a final round of in-depth blind interviews, Bare Escentuals selected five women to feature in the campaign.
Making its debut in September, each of the women will appear in tailored iterations of the campaign that will be supported by TV, print, digital and social marketing efforts. The move is also a departure for the brand as it has traditionally featured its bareMinerals foundation in its marketing efforts.