Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

For women with sensitive skin, the skincare advertising landscape is a constant reminder that adhering to accepted beauty standards will never be easy for them. Through our brand film, we sought to craft a compelling visual story of how this struggle with social expectations affects them in daily life — and how they can ultimately rise above this by focusing on themselves. This is also a breakthrough moment for dermatological brand Cetaphil. Despite being expected to churn out the usual functional benefits, the brand took the storytelling route and proved that compelling dramatisation doesn’t mean diluting claims of technological superiority.

Background

The brand has long been associated with its medical heritage and dermatological association, which in turn, positions the brand to be quite cold and functional. Cetaphil wanted to create an emotional connection with its otherwise, standard and functional product to stand out among Thai consumers in an already highly competitive skincare landscape. Ultimately, Cetaphil wanted to disrupt its own way of communicating the brand by stepping out their comfort zone of the dermatological messaging. More than just achieving cut-through awareness for its name, it wanted to achieve cultural relevance with the Thai market in translating its brand essence of inner strength through engaging content.

Describe the creative idea

Thai women are expected to be giving of themselves, putting the expectations of society before them. But just as Cetaphil clears the skin of impurities while retaining what’s essential, our film is a clarion call for Thai women to care and love for who should matter first — themselves. As the film takes us through the young woman’s ordeal of feeling sorry for herself after a breakup, a narrator in the background repeatedly asks about what matters to her. In the end, she uses Cetaphil to wash her face, with the camera finally revealing her face, showing her resolve to focus on herself. The film ultimately disrupts beauty commercial tropes through its core message: instead of advocating oppressive beauty standards, it empowered women to do away with the toxic standards imposed upon them and to define their own value on their own terms.

Describe the strategy

Like many SEA countries, Thailand is a highly collectivist country and tends to focus on the larger needs of the community rather than the individual’s. Thai women are especially expected to defer to expectations others, even at the expense of their own well-being. They are brought up to think that their self-worth is dependent on satisfying those expectations. Through this film, Cetaphil saw an opportunity to inspire Thai women to challenge this oppressive aspect of Thai culture by focusing on themselves — a small revolution in its own right. We also made a conscious decision to show only the back of the film’s protagonist throughout the entire narrative, until the final reveal at the end, a break from the usual focus of beauty ads. It served to amplify our underlying message of giving importance to the whole person, not simply her pretty face or flawless skin.

Describe the execution

The Launch: “KEEP WHAT MATTERS. LOSE THE REST.” On 24 February, the campaign was launched through the brand film, followed by a shorter product-focused film to immediately reinforce the product benefits. These two films aimed to garner awareness on Facebook and YouTube. Branded Content: “CETAPHIL HAS ONLY WHAT MATTERS TO YOUR SENSITIVE SKIN.” Cetaphil continued to invest in media buys until 30 April, highlighting that Cetaphil is formulated to be safe and gentle for sensitive skin. We tapped social posts, ads, blogs and reviews, and product promos to accelerate sales. Influencer Programs: “CETAPHIL, THE ONLY SKINCARE YOU NEED FOR SENSITIVE SKIN.” Influencers further reinforced the messaging by showcasing how Cetaphil’s gentle effectiveness makes it theultimate skincare product for those with sensitive skin. We asked them to talk about their own product experience and to deliver product information and skin tips to the community, strengthening Cetaphil’s credibility in the market.

Describe the outcome

Within the two months of March and April, our campaign successfully garnered 4.6 million video views over Facebook, and 1 million views over YouTube. The Facebook video post also managed to achieve almost 1.5K shares, with Thai women resonating well with the film (83.9% positive sentiment across social media) and voicing their support for our campaign message in their shared posts. We also achieved a 288.15% increase in Cetaphil’s internally-recorded engagement rate for the same time period, marking an immediate win for the brand when it comes to connecting with their target market. Ultimately through the campaign, we didn’t just simply build brand awareness for Cetaphil. We proved that the brand could break out of its comfort zones while still being able to drive the powerful functional benefits of its products.