Results and Effectiveness

Our Singapore and Malaysia Facebook pages tripled their fan bases in just one month after the launch. During the campaign period, we garnered 750,996 post views in total and 2,413 likes and comments in Malaysia; and 53,292 page views and 489 likes and comments in Singapore. SK-II’s new users increased by 57% in Malaysia and 82% in Singapore versus a year ago, with a sales increase of 6% for both markets. In a region where “natural skin” is covered up by layers of makeup, we broke through and helped women realize it’s OK to be natural.

Creative Execution

We produced a series of communications featuring Tang Wei — the actress who made a bold choice to bare-all role in Ang Lee’s erotic film, Lust, Caution — sans make-up inviting all females to show off their bare face for a day. She also launched our campaign event and invited other women to be photographed without make-up. Visitors took photos in the SK-II booth, uploaded them onto our Facebook page and invited others to enter our “Bare Your Skin for a Day” contest. Three local TV personalities joined the “Bare Skin is Best Skin” pledge and offered their testimonials. Popular female bloggers shared their stories of life without make-up for a day. Usually Photoshopped, they appeared at their most natural. We linked all participants to the SK-II site where women all over Asia could join in the movement and show off their bare, beautiful faces for a day.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Modern Asian women feel the need to juggle being a career woman, daughter and mother all while looking attractive without effort. Most plaster layers of make-up to hide facial flaws. The pressure to show porcelain, ‘natural’ skin actually drives women to leave the house with heavy make-up on. We discovered that women are not attracted to the scientific nuances or promise of male attention. They simply want to feel that their face is presentable on its own. No make-up, no mask. Just naturally beautiful bare skin. This was the reality SK-II needed women to understand amidst competition who are peddling scientific claims to convince women to believe in their products. SK-II, #1 brand in Singapore/Malaysia, needs to take the proof of product effectiveness to the next level not through scientific claims but through what women intuitively know -- the most beautiful skin doesn't need make-up. It's just 'bare skin'.