Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Disrupting the beauty commercial trope of focusing on pretty faces and flawless skin, the film tells a young woman’s story with her back facing the audience throughout the entire film. As the film goes through the ordeal of dealing with a traitorous friend, a cheating boyfriend and eventually getting a warning at work, a narrator in the background repeatedly asks about what matters to her. In the end, she uses her Cetaphil cleanser to wash her face and wipe the fog off the mirror — the camera revealing her face for the first time and showing her resolve to finally focus on herself.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

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 — whether it’s beauty standards that prescribe complex beauty regimes or social preconceptions on what it means to be female. Our film is a clarion call for Thai women to finally care for and love who should matter first: themselves, a small but real revolution in its own right.

Please tell us how you designed/adapted your campaign for the single country / region / market where it aired.

In Thailand’s skincare advertising landscape, most brands appeal to (and exploit) the Thai woman’s desire to conform to beauty standards. Products constantly offer flawless and whiter skin, while dermatological brands leverage technological superiority in delivering beauty results to women with special skin needs. Our approach to building Cetaphil’s brand through a film that seeks to empower rather than sell beauty promises is a break from the tired advertising formula within Thailand’s skincare space. It was a risk we knew would pay off with Thai digital natives who are bombarded by the same messaging tactics. This was also a breakthrough for Cetaphil. Cetaphil understood that to build a deeper connection with the Thai market, it also had to break away from its dry, medical approach to communications. Through the film campaign, we were able to achieve cultural resonance with Thai women, while still staying true to the integrity of the brand.