Sephora csp

 

Complete the following questions/tasks:

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

Many speculations have been made that the reason they made this advert in order to combat the speculation of sephoras racist accusations but they claim that there was no involvement  and they made the advertisements in pure intention for them to broaden their black beauty product range and oblige to the 15% pledge.

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

They point out that the advertisement features a beauty salon, a dressing room for a drag show, and a Black mother and daughter. Overall, it demonstrates the mainstream beauty industry's trends, methods, and products as well as their inescapable ties to Black beauty culture. The promotion runs until November 2021 and coincides with a different initiative that highlights Black-owned brands that Sephora carries, such as Bread hair care and Topicals skin care.

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

Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) which both have a predominantly black audience

4) Why does the Refinery29 article suggest the advert 'doesn't feel preformative'? 

they say that "thanks to Bradley’s vision, inclusion of history and all body types, orientations and races, Black Beauty Is Beauty doesn’t feel preformative. 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".

5) What is the 15 per cent pledge and why is it significant?

The 15 Percent Pledge is a US-based non-profit organisation that encourages retailers to pledge at least 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses. The foundation conducts audits, shares its database of Black-owned businesses, and offers business development strategies to participating companies. its significant especially for sephora as it helps them clear speculations that they're a racist company whilst clearly showing their support to the black community

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?

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.

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

they helped share the truth that 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. It was time to give credit where it’s due and encourage the beauty industry to do the same.

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

They "rewrote the narrative" by attributing the hairbrush, the cut crease, and numerous other cosmetic essentials to Black beauty. they were able to continue exposing this heritage and honouring Black beauty culture because to an editorial partnership with The Cut and a SEM takeover.

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 start with this message “ At Sephora, we believe in championing all beauty, living with courage, and standing fearlessly together to celebrate our differences.” and follow this by mentioning facts regarding black beauty products and mention how they support this as they also contribute to raising the awareness of these statements.

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website? 

They highlight statistics regarding the inequality of most beauty products in comparison to black beauty products such as how almost 80% of shoppers struggle to see a sufficient amount of beauty products that are owned by or made for people of colour. although their aim of establishing these problems are to raise awareness and to make a change, it also shows how inequal  sephora has been before this statement and how it has taken this long for them to speak out about it.

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

American artist and filmmaker Garrett's films explore issues including racism, class, and the development of cinema in the US. She was the first Black woman to win best documentary director at sundance in 2020    for her movie Time. Notably, the movie received an  Academy Award nomination for best documentary feature ij 2021.This marks her professional debut.

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?

The camera work throughout the video was very zoomed in and this might have seemed awkward at first but you then realise that they've been zooming in on the key aspects that point out the black beauty such as their makeup, outfits and hairstyles. which is to communicate their message that they are paying attention to black beauty to show that its something they care deeply about.

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

There are many costumes that have been used in this music video that have cultural significance to them and many has been linked with black culture and history. Makeup was also heavily influenced in this advertisement through a cultural perspective in many ways like how by explaining its origin link with black culture. and by introducing other races to 'black makeup'.

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

They main juxtaposition in this advert i find is that of the past and present, the video often cuts somewhat smoothly from how things are now with current makeup and fashion and then turns back to how they were in the past.

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

there was alot of text on screen which was to credit the original founders of makeup styles and products such as the comb, discovering the layers in hair and creating wigs. this creates a strong sense of recognition to the black community as they are shown as thankful that thanks to them the makeup and fashion industry has made it this far.

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

The overall message of this advert is to show the public that they are a brand that supports the black community and are great full to everyone of the black community that has contributed into making the makeup industry the way it is now. However many believe that this advert was just a big cover up for their accusations after racially profiling the black celebrity 'SZA' and being seen as racist.