Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

 Blog tasks: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP


Work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on the Sephora CSP and particularly the wider social and cultural contexts.

Wider reading on Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty

Read these articles on the Sephora campaign: 

The Drum: Black Beauty is Beauty by RGA
Glossy: Sephora celebrates Black beauty in new digital and TV campaign

Complete the following questions/tasks:

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

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 they show a lady doing a little kids hair in a warm setting to show all backgrounds and cultures are welcome to Sephora.

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

They appeared on digital channels like BET, OWN Hulu, HBO Max and through social media.

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

they dont feel left out,that they created an advert to feel welcomed and not left out.

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

That 15% of their sheleves were 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?

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?

beauty trends, ingredients, tools, giving the black beauty credit.

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

Black beauty for the cut crease, the hairbrush,creating a welcoming feeling.

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 introduced the campagin by putting up banners containg the images of the advert,'Support & Celebrate Black Beauty'.

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website? 

The satistics highlighted are:
78% of shoppers across retail industry don't see enough brand owned by or made for people of colour.
3% of brands at major beauty retailers are Black owned

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

Garrett Bradley that displays everything from Black beauty inventions to nostalgic Black mother-and-daughter hair moments

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?

They focused it on cultural things,such as the ady doing the little girls hair,and close ups on their faces to show the are important.

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

The lady doing the little girls hair to show talent,culture and skills.

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

The editing creates a welcomjng meaning to black beauty and cultures.

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

The voice over that was heard was very calm,soft and pleasant to hear as this creats a welcoming warm feeling,mening that black cultured is seen and recognised.

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

The overall message of the advert is to make the black community more welcomed and feel safe,and to show the customers that Sephora cares and supports the black community,this was made for the 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? 

They talk about thr importance of diversity as everyone is welcomed.

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

Judith Butler: Gender fluidity
Butler argues that gender is not strictly divided into two categories, male and female, but rather exists on a spectrum of gender identity. Gender is a social construct in which  individuals “perform” their gender. This is represented in the advert when drag queens, who are anatomically male,perform traditionally female rituals by applying make-up.

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

When the advert was made, it was posted on YouTube, the Oprah Winfrey channel, and BET (Black Entertainment Television) in the USA. The intention here is specifically to target  black audiences, particularly black American audiences, where the Sephora brand is primarily based.

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

“Join Sephora in supporting and celebrating Black beauty” conveys the idea that 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?  

Consumerism: The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods

Identity: A person’s sense of self, meaning how they view themselves compared to other people

Capitalism: An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production

Gender Fluidity: Denoting a person who does not identify themselves as having a fixed gender

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