Blog tasks: Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty CSP

 Work through the following tasks to make sure you're an expert on the Sephora CSP and particularly the wider social and cultural contexts.

Wider reading on Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty

Read these articles on the Sephora campaign: 

The Drum: Black Beauty is Beauty by RGA
Glossy: Sephora celebrates Black beauty in new digital and TV campaign

Refinery29: Sephora’s ‘Black Beauty Is Beauty’ Short Film Celebrates Black Innovation

Complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What was Sephora trying to achieve with the campaign?

Sephora has launched ‘Black Beauty is Beauty’, a new campaign celebrating the countless Black traditions and inventions that have propagated the beauty trends we all know and love – from stylized baby hairs and cut-crease eyeshadow to glitter and shea butter-based skincare. The campaign is part of the retailer’s broader commitment to advancing racial equity in the beauty and retail sectors.

2) What scenes from the advert are highlighted as particularly significant in the articles?

The camera pans over Black women waiting under dryers as the narrator poses the question, “What is beauty without Black beauty?” Repeatedly, Black people create trends and receive no acknowledgment while white industries co-opt and monetise Black genius. Did you know a Black woman invented the hairbrush? Lyda D. Newman was an inventor and activist for women’s suffrage. She patented the first easy-to-clean hairbrush with synthetic bristles. In Black Beauty Is Beauty, Newman gets her flowers, with her patented hairbrush design highlighted in the film. 

The film shows a white person applying a cut crease, then cuts to a trio of drag queens beating their face, then to vogueing at a drag ball. The message is clear: these trends are Black and queer. From the Black mom who laid our edges as children and taught us to use thick lotions instead of that watery mess, we birthed make-up and skin care with our love and shared it with the world.  

Thanks to Bradley’s vision, inclusion of history and all body types, orientations and races, Black Beauty Is Beauty doesn’t feel performative. No one feels left out. The film has more inclusion in its under-a-minute runtime than two hour features have in their whole film. Rather than dipping a toe in “diversity,” Bradley and Sephora fully submerged us and created a beautiful film that sees us. 

3) As well as YouTube, what TV channels and networks did the advert appear on?

The campaign strategy will be across TV networks and digital channels like BET, OWN Hulu, HBO Max and YouTube

The campaign strategy will be across TV networks and digital channels like BET, OWN Hulu, HBO Max and YouTube.

4) Why does the Refinery29 article suggest the advert 'doesn't feel performative'? 

No one feels left out. The film has more inclusion in its under-a-minute runtime than two hour features have in their whole film. Rather than dipping a toe in “diversity,” Bradley and Sephora fully submerged us and created a beautiful film that sees us. And we didn’t even have to wait until Black History Month to be acknowledged. 

5) What is the 15 per cent pledge and why is it significant?

Sephora pledges at least 15% of their shelves for Black-owned brands. Useful information about the challenges Black brands face helps Sephora Accelerate, helping founders of colour create a successful business

Advertising agency feature

The Black Beauty Is Beauty advertising spot was created by global creative agency R/GA. Look at their website feature on the project and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Sephora approach R/GA to develop the advert?

Sephora approached R/GA to develop this advert because they wanted to do something about racial equity in the beauty industry. Since Sephora signed the 15% pledge, it had already commissioned a study on racial bias in retail and was making plans to combat bias in its own stores. Sephora was doing the work above and beyond posting a “black square,” but needed our help to talk about its commitment.

2) What was the truth that R/GA helped Sephora to share?

The truth that R/GA helped Sephora to share is that the ingenuity and influence of Black people have led to many of the beauty trends, ingredients, tools, and language we all enjoy. Due to this, it was about time to give Black Beauty the  credit that it's due and encourage the beauty industry to do the same.

3) How did the advert 'rewrite the narrative'?

The advert that Sephora produced helped to 'rewrite the narrative' as the work was equal parts thesis and campaign spelling out the influence of Black beauty culture on mainstream beauty. Our launch film credited Black beauty for the cut crease, the hairbrush, and many more beauty staples we all enjoy. An editorial partnership with The Cut and an SEM takeover allowed us to continue sharing that history and giving Black beauty culture the credit it deserves.

Sephora website: Black Beauty Is Beauty

Visit the Sephora website page on Black Beauty Is Beauty. Answer the following questions:

1) How does Sephora introduce the campaign?

At Sephora, we believe in championing all beauty, living with courage, and standing fearlessly together to celebrate our differences. Today’s mainstream beauty trends, tools, and products have deep roots in Black culture—and not everyone knows it

2) What statistics are highlighted on the website? 

3% of brands at major beauty retailers are Black owned

1% of venture capital funding goes to Black-owned businesses

78% of shoppers across the retail industry don’t see enough brands owned by or made for people of color

2 in 5 shoppers across the retail industry have personally experienced unfair treatment on the basis of their race or skin color

3) What do we learn about Garrett Bradley - the director of the advert? 

Garrett is an American artist and filmmaker whose work focuses on themes including race, class, and the history of film in the US. In 2020, she was the first Black woman to win best director of a documentary at Sundance for her film Time. The film was also notably nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards. This is her commercial debut.

Media language: textual analysis

Watch the advert again and answer the following questions that focus on technical and verbal codes. Use your notes from the lesson to help you here.  

1) How does the advert use camerawork to communicate key messages about the brand?

The advert has a lot of camera movement. The camera is constantly moving with pan/track shots and zooming in into the black people's hair to show how to treat it well and look after it. Perhaps these camera shots are used to create the meaning of Sephora moving along with the times. Another use of a camera shot is that this advert has lots of close up shots. Classic convention of beauty advertising both with close ups of faces and products. 

2) How is mise-en-scene used to create meanings about black beauty and culture?

Mise-en-scene is used to create meanings about black beauty and culture as the props they use such as the design of the hairbrush and then showing the hairbrush product in use on someones hair. This connotes classic conventions of beauty advertising with products like hairbrushes, products and eye shadows. 

3) How is editing used to create juxtapositions and meanings in the advert?

Editing such as split screen and animated diagrams helps to create meanings in the advert as there is constant movement of camerawork along with editing. This could be perhaps used to create meanings in the advert as it can reflect the attention span of TikTok generation and the expectation of sharing on social media. 

4) How are verbal codes used to create meanings in the advert - the voiceover and text on screen? 

The use of verbal codes such as the voice over helps to create meaning in the advert as when the props are shown the voice over talks about the products and how they have helped change an shape people for the better and that it is all thanks to Black Beauty and that it should get the reward and recognition it deserves.  

5) What is the overall message of the advert? 

Beauty is Black Beauty and that it should be more widely recognised for the accomplishments and significant feats it has accomplished as it has impacted in a positive way towards the other ethnic groups out there and the way they show it in this advert is cleverly constructed.  

Media factsheet

Finally, go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #259: Sephora Online Advert - Black Beauty Is Beauty. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

1) Look at the exam hint on the first page. How does Sephora as a brand and the CSP specifically reflect contemporary social and cultural contexts? 

Sephora as a brand specifically reflects contemporary social and cultural contexts as we need to understand this advert in the wider context of the BLM protest and so we can also engage and enable a discussion of how this relates back to the relevant social, cultural, historical and political contexts. 

2) Media theory: how are Butler, Gauntlett, bell hooks and Gilroy applied to the CSP?

Judith Butler: Gender fluidity -  Butler argues that gender is not strictly divided into two categories, male and female, but rather exists on a spectrum of gender identity. Gender is a social construct in which individuals “perform” their gender. This is represented in the advert when drag queens, who are anatomically male, perform traditionally female rituals by applying make-up.

David Gauntlett: Identity - The Sephora advert reinforces Gauntlett’s ideas that there is now a much broader range of representations in the media, challenging traditional notions of gender identity. Gauntlett discusses the idea that identity is not fixed, and audiences can use media texts to help shape their sense of self by selecting versions of ourselves we want to “adopt”. Gauntlett says, “Identity is complicated, everyone’s got one.” The text provides the audience with an array of options for how people of colour could present their identity.

bell hooks: Intersectionality - Hooks’ notion that black women are excluded from mainstream media representations is contested in this text. In the advert, the Sephora brand aims to attract a diverse audience, and all the females featured are people of colour. They are no longer marginalised; instead, “black beauty” is celebrated and recognized for its impact on the industry.

Gilroy: Postcolonial theory -  Gilroy’s Postcolonial theory, which posits racial hierarchies, is challenged in this advert. The advert does not reinforce but rather challenges hegemonic standards of beauty, such as white, slim, Eurocentric features, etc. Individuals from the BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) community, who have historically been underrepresented in beauty advertising, have been selected to feature in this advert.

3) What aspects of media language are highlighted on page 3 of the factsheet? 

A close-up of a hairbrush is shown...

The camera pans across the salon in a typically fluid motion... 

Medium close-up shots of the tools of the “trade” are used to communicate the idea that beauty comprises many elements...

The advert then utilises split screens and mirror shots to provide origin stories for tools and to showcase the products in action, creating a binary opposition between old versus new...

An image of a mother doing her child’s hair is shown, and the voice-over references “a mother’s love”...

Warm light is used to reinforce this positive moment between a mother and her daughter...

This then transitions to a shot of smiling, dancing people, presenting a very positive image...

That helps to challenge the often negative stereotypes of black communities that are presented to us via the media.

4) How does the factsheet summarise the advert on the final page?

At the end of the advert, the message “Join Sephora in supporting and celebrating Black beauty” conveys the idea that Sephora is a brand leading the campaign for equality. This may be an effort to address past racial controversies and present Sephora as a company championing ethnic diversity and equality. The capitalisation of the letter “b” in the word “black” emphasises the notion of black power, its dominance, and importance.

5) What are the four ideologies in advertising highlighted in task 8 on the final page of the factsheet? In your opinion, do you feel the Sephora CSP advert challenges or reinforces each of these?  

Consumerism - The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods

Identity - A person’s sense of self, meaning how they view themselves compared to other people

Capitalism - An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production

Gender Fluidity - Denoting a person who does not identify themselves as having a fixed gender

I think that Sephora reinforces all of these ideologies as firstly consumerism is shown from Sephora as they are promoting black owned business which is their own. Secondly, Identity is reinforced through the promotion of not just the Black community but also those who are underrepresented and allows them to portray themselves however they want. Thirdly, capitalism is reinforced through the sale of their products to all people while it could be challenged due to the 15% pledge that might be a success or failure to see if it is profitable or not. Lastly, Sephora reinforces gender fluidity through its promotion and adverts for beauty is Black Beauty.