Olay Opts for Real Instead of Retouched
A long-time leader in skin, Olay is making headlines with their latest initiative that takes the “Face Anything” mantra to new heights. This week, the leading general-retail brand, announced it will no longer be retouching any of its advertising images, making it one of the first major corporations to pioneer a new normal. Considering the brand’s ongoing commitment to inspiring women to make fearless choices, it feels like a natural fit that Olay would create a unifying parallel between the women in their ads and the women using their beloved red jars at home.
The “Skin Promise” initiative echoes the sentiment of the "Beauty Mark” campaign CVS launched in 2018. Olay joins apparel retailers Aerie, Asos, and ModCloth in its commitment to abolish retouching policies. Similarly, Target has garnered attention for its unretouched swimsuit ads, in addition to the hit independent women’s magazine, Darling, who has been a longtime advocate of the movement.
Conventional standards, specifically in the skin and beauty realms, are slowly shifting, and have been doing so over the last few years. The launch of Glossier in 2016 symbolized a breakthrough as the cult-beauty brand glorified the “Love the skin you’re in” sentiment, and normalized a curated feed exclusively featuring diverse women rocking their natural, no make-up glow.
The idea of consumers seeing themselves in branded ads is by no means a revolutionary creative strategy, but norms are being redefined in a multitude of ways, and that element of reliability continues to prove important to audiences. It seems the element of humanity is one on the brink of surging in popularity. Understandably, audiences want to feel they can relate to the brands and the products they buy, but how will that translate as the demand evolves? Will brands begin to embrace the body diversity trend and approach model castings with increased inclusivity? Will we see more equal representation of POC in commercials and advertisements?
The real vs. retouched subject, I think, is merely the surface of a powerful consumer insight. Today’s audiences have a bullshit radar like no other—there’s no fooling them. And in a time where people want what’s real, brands need to demonstrate their ability to adjust and deliver.