Dive Brief:
- Sephora is tapping Seth Rogen for a holiday campaign that caters to people in search of gifts for friends and family but who are clueless about beauty products, according to a press release.
- In new ads, the star and co-creator of “The Studio” discusses his shopping list with an in-store Sephora adviser and bumbles through picking the right presents for various people in his life.
- The retailer teased the partnership at its location in The Grove in Los Angeles, where the store’s name temporarily became Sethpora, and via social posts last week. The full “We All Sephora” campaign, which rolls out Thursday, will appear across connected and linear TV, streaming and social.
Dive Insight:
Rather than targeting its core base of in-the-know beauty shoppers, Sephora has designed its holiday campaign around gift-givers who are novices when it comes to the beauty space and want to take the guesswork out of the process.
Rogen was hired to provide a sense of humor and an approachable everyman quality to the effort, which spotlights services like in-store beauty advisers and includes a product list curated by the actor on Sephora’s app and website. Rogen is currently riding awards buzz for “The Invite,” an A24 comedy he co-stars in with director Olivia Wilde, and building excitement for the second season of “The Studio,” an acclaimed Hollywood satire he co-created, produces and stars in.
The “We All Sephora” spot, which is running in 30- and 60-second versions, sees Rogen arrive at a Sephora and immediately need guidance from an assistant named Charlotte. He misunderstands the use of setting sprays and misidentifies pimple patches as “face stickers” while the beauty adviser corrects him and helps select gifts that will actually land with loved ones in his life, such as matching red light LED masks he wears with his mom.
The ad closes on an exterior shot of a store rebranded as Sethphora, a facade that also appeared last week at a real Sephora location in Los Angeles, where Rogen is based. The brick-and-mortar makeover and social teasers were meant to build anticipation for the full campaign launch on Thursday. Agency Gut New York is behind “We All Sephora,” which is running in the U.S. and Canada. Jason Woliner directed the ads.
Celebrities have become an important part of Sephora’s holiday mix. The LVMH-owned brand last year partnered with Mariah Carey on a campaign riffing on the inescapability of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” during the Q4 period. Billy Eichner played a disgruntled elf determined to upset the seasonal cheer.
LVMH reported strong growth across all markets for Sephora in Q3, according to an earnings statement published earlier this month. Selective retailing, the business segment the brand sits under, grew organic revenue 6% during the first nine months of the year.
Other retailers have focused their holiday messaging on gift-givers who want to find more thoughtful, personalized presents. Target’s seasonal campaign is themed around a fictional academy where different departments and faculty members specialize in categories like toys and value-friendly gifting ideas.
