The Campaign

We first wrote a message of empowerment, which consisted of 106 syllables. We then invited 106 influential women professionals in a variety of fields to leave their own mark on this statement. They did this by applying a KISSME lipstick and leaving a lipstick mark on a sheet of paper, while mouthing one of the syllables in the statement. We then lined up the lipstick marks below the syllables to complete the statement. In the process, we were able to demonstrate that lipstick was not a decorative item applied for the pleasure of others, but a powerful tool for self-expression.

Creative Execution

A public unveiling of the statement was held in March in honor of International Women’s Day. It was posted on a 3-by-6-meter board set up in Shibuya, an area in Tokyo that is popular among young women. The 106 contributors helped publicize the unveiling through social media. For those who couldn’t make the event, we posted the statement online along with a making-of movie and detailed information on who left which lipstick mark. Our hope was that word on this project would spread primarily through the contributors’ online followers and fans.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Thanks to word of mouth from the statement’s contributors and their online followers and fans, the project was widely covered in social media and on various news websites. As a result, we were able to deliver our statement encouraging women to live free of societal constraints to a sizable audience. In the process, we were also able to change the popular image of lipstick as a decoration applied for the pleasure of others into that of a powerful tool for self-expression.