Lipstick advertising:some considerations
PC Barragué
Communications director and consultant: communication strategy, creative services, creative and content lead. Particular expertise in the beauty/luxury goods sectors
(Published in French Journal du Luxe)
Lipstick sales: the roller coaster
In a span of a few months, the lipstick segment went from a solid growth to a horrific fall
This very special category has thus experienced very strong dynamism, marked by the arrival of new players such as Hermès and by almost mythical "success stories". Everyone still remembers the maddening figures communicated to WWD by Coty on the occasion of the launch of Gucci Beauty: it could be read that more than a million lipsticks had been sold during the first month of the launch of Gucci Beauty. And that“33,000 sticks of red (which) were sold in a single day, in one and the same shop, in Asia”. Amazing !
This euphoria gave way in a few months to a pronounced decline in sales – because of COVID and masks. If make-up as a whole is slowing down in favor of skincare, lipsticks are experiencing a particularly marked decline. The French TV News report of June 18 thus advanced the following figures: a 58% drop in sales for RAL (vs. an increase in sales of "eye" products (leading mascara) and nails).
A fine, even complex segmentation
Beyond this high volatility, we should also note the fragmentation of the category which is divided into many sub-segments linked to the characteristics of the product and the final rendering (matt, lacquered, glossy, satin, pearl). Not to mention the wide range of colors available (there are often dozens of "shades" for a single brand) which literally explodes the average assortment.
A product symbol of seduction and status
While it is true that lipstick has experienced sharp ups and downs and that the management of the category is "complicated" because of multiple sub-ranges, it should also be noted that the lip segment is emotionally heavily invested by the consumer;, as lips are in themselves a compendium of seduction and self-assertiveness as well as a "structural" promise (that of the kiss) which explains the dynamism of the category and the thirst for novelty and discovery of customers.
Lipstick is not only an accessory of seduction, it is also a sign of status. The object (its opening system, its color, its material, its sound, ...) is in itself a vision of luxury, chic and an image of the brand (Estée Lauder gold vs monastic black by Chanel, Guerlain's “jewel” or even tinsel lipstick, Louboutin's precious vial-shaped tube…).
What role for lipstick advertising?
Multiple criteria can influence the choice and the purchase of a lipstick: the brand and the price of course but also the packaging, the color and the quality of the finish, not to mention the opinions and recommendations (of other clients and of course influencers) ...
How then to understand the role of advertising? how do brands envision media communication for these products?
The product above all: let them shine!
In this bloated jungle, the temptation to highlight the characteristics of the product to make people want to take action is of course strong (and most certainly necessary).
We thus see films featuring huge mouths and glossy lips as so many “product results”: the Dior Addict films with Cara Delevingne are a good example, as are the Armani spots with Barbara Palvin (Ecstasy Mirror).
In this race to over-dramatize the result produced, we can however call on an in-house ambassador to improve the attribution of the message to the brand: Natalie Portman will thus lend her mouth to Dior Rouge Liquid, Natalia Vodianova hers to Guerlain. and Monica Bellucci at Dolce Gabbana…
“Brand” campaigns as much as product: the examples of Gucci, Hermès and Tom Ford
You can also stage the result produced in a way that is unique and specific to the brand. Gucci has thus communicated on its lipstick in a campaign which highlights its “inclusive” vision of beauty. It is about sublimating imperfections and embodying body positivity. And to do so while respecting the aesthetics of the House and its quirky communication codes. Sean Vegezzi creates a so Gucci spot punctuated by the eighties music of Yazoo. As for the print, it is entrusted to the English master Martin Parr.
Hermès has also chosen to launch its lipstick with a campaign that aims to be both brand and product communication. The brand thus stages the lipstick case. This case is a variation on one of the symbols of the house, the mythical orange box.
The spot signed Oliver HADLEE PEARCH is thus an ode to Hermès codes and to orange. One never shows too strong or explicit seduction; the frame is always wide. The staged woman is sober and chic. The signature drives home the point: “Hermès. Orange turns red. "
While not everyone has codes as recognizable as those of Hermès, some brands are lucky enough to still have the founder at their head. World-renowned. And handsome. At least that's what the management of Tom Ford Beauty must have thought
The Boys & Girls campaign of 2018 therefore features Tom Ford himself, accompanied by Celeste Barber, the Australian actress who became famous by reproducing (with a twist) the photos of the stars on Instagram.
The designer thus helps Celeste to recreate a scene of a greedy and torrid kiss between 2 models. The brand thus capitalizes on its creator / designer and on the universe of the so popular Celeste; she stages a kiss so deep that it becomes humorous.
This is a very “lipstick” advertisement indeed, but also very “brand”: it features the founder and it exploits the “sexy” territory associated with Tom Ford, while diverting the codes of seduction and introducing a great sense of humor.
Staging a lipstick advert while invoking the history and codes of the brand: Chanel
While the Chanel spots are undoubtedly product-focused ads dramatizing sooo red lips, one cannot help but notice the multiplicity of nods to the history of the house that punctuate these communications. Beyond the names (Rouge Allure) and the muses (Lily-Rose Depp or Kristen Stewart), we are struck by the style of the staging and the vision of femininity conveyed.
Take for example the film Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme with Vittoria Ceretti.
A refined decor, a limbo background; hair slicked back, a black turtleneck (a nod to Jacques Helleu?) at the antipodes of too much seduction : Chanel femininity is definitively ‘chic and sleek”.
And, beyond this minimalism, black is everywhere (the turtleneck, the logo, the pack and the Chanel brand super)….
Let's now take a look at an older film for the Rouge Coco Shine, aired in 2013. Solve Sundsbo films Sigrid Agren and her impeccably made-up mouth in a swimming pool. It's hard not to see a tribute to the legendary film "The Swimming pool" directed in 1979 by Ridley Scott for Chanel Number 5.
Chanel thus does very product-focused communications with plenty of references to the Maison, its history and its codes. Without falling into the ease of staging a Paris (its Eiffel Tower and its monuments, its quays of the Seine, its bridges, its arcades and gardens, etc.) which is beginning to be seriously over-exploited.
As we have seen, there is no one way to think about good advertising for a lipstick. Whether it is “product” or more “brand-oriented”, those sexy and sophisticated communications have all one goal in common: creating desire.
Ref:
Dior Addict (Can’t get enough shine)
Armani ECSTASY MIRROR
Rouge Dior, the new lipstick (N. Portman)
Guerlain Rouge G (N. Vodianova)
Dolce & Gabbana ( M. Bellucci)
Gucci Beauty Matte Lipstick
Hermès Beauty
Tom Ford Boys & Girls (Tom & Celeste)
Chanel ROUGE ALLURE VELVET EXTRêME
LE ROUGE CHANEL (rouge coco shine) : Beyond color