advert: Sephora media lang+rep

Question 1

historical context: who was it founded by and what was their focus?

Answer 1

founded in France by Dominique Mandonnaud, with a focus on an open sell environment and a wide selection of brands in over 30 countries

Question 2

historical context: what was happening at the time of the ad? (2021) what did sephora aim to acknowledge and celebrate?

Answer 2

a period marked by heightened awareness of racial injustices, particularly following the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests in response to George Floyd’s death. Sephora aimed to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of Black culture to the beauty industry, which had often been underrepresented.

Question 3

historical context: how have the beauty standards in advertising changed? how does sephora challenge stereotypes?

Answer 3

Traditional beauty standards in advertising were largely Eurocentric—fair skin, slim bodies were idealised.
There’s been a growing demand for inclusive representation, challenging narrow ideals and celebrating diverse forms of beauty. Sephora’s campaign challenges stereotypes by showcasing Black women and gender-diverse individuals in positions of strength, creativity, and influence.

Question 4

cultural and social context: what has Sephora increased their focus on? what initiatives do they have?

Answer 4

Sephora increasingly focused on diversity and inclusion, with initiatives like the Sephora Squad, which aims to represent a wider range of voices and perspectives

Question 5

cultural and social context: what type of activism gained prominence when the campaign was launched?

Answer 5

The campaign was launched during a time when social media activism had gained prominence, allowing movements like Black Lives Matter to reach global audiences and influence public discourse.

Question 6

cultural and social context: what did sephora contribute to by showcasing diverse representations of black beauty?

Answer 6

By showcasing diverse representations of Black beauty, Sephora contributed to the broader movement advocating for inclusivity and the celebration of all beauty forms

Question 7

cultural and social context: what’s one thing Sephora does in their campaigns to help diversity in the media?

Answer 7

Sephora has become known for using diverse models in its advertising campaigns. This reflects a societal shift toward acknowledging the variety of beauty found in people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and appearances.

Question 8

social and cultural context: how does the black is beauty campaign show empowerment and uplift black femininity?

Answer 8

the campaign uplifts Black femininity, which has historically been underrepresented in beauty advertising. It presents a more authentic and empowered version of gender identity

Question 9

political context: what did sephora become the first retailer to sign?

Answer 9

Sephora became the first major retailer to sign the 15% Pledge — a political commitment to devote 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned brands, reflecting the percentage of Black people in the U.S. The Black Beauty is Beauty ad isn’t just representation — it’s a political declaration that beauty retail must change

Question 10

political context: what does the ad address issues of?

Answer 10

addresses issues of racial bias in beauty advertising and society

Question 11

4 of Sephoras brand values?

Answer 11

• committed to building an inclusive organisation (2.3% of employees have a disability)
• free of judgement
• standing together to celebrate differences
• create and advocate for the future of sustainable beauty (reduce carbon footprint, “take back” solution)

Question 12

who created the Sephora ‘black is beauty’ ad?

Answer 12

R/GA media

Question 13

3 places the ad was shown and who does this target?

Answer 13

• YouTube (reach a global audience)
• breaks on the Oprah Winfrey channel
• Black Entertainment Television
  (helps them target a black American audience where Sephora was primarily based at the time)

Question 14

who directed the ad and what so important to know about the crew?

Answer 14

advert was directed by Garrett Bradley - a black female director and she used a black female crew/production company

Question 15

media representation: why did Sephora make the advert?

Answer 15

Sephora found a search engine bias, where there was little about the history of black beauty in google search results - someone searching ‘black beauty’ would see a book by Anna Sewell but nothing about beauty in black people or brands. their history was being erased

Question 16

media representation: what did Sephora ask online content creators and users to do to support the Black beauty movement?

Answer 16

they asked people to start tagging online content about black makeup, products or beauty with the hashtag #BlackBeauty - memorable, effective and can reach a wide audience

Question 17

media representation: what did the hashtag allow social media to normalise?

Answer 17

social media has normalised conversations and debates about important issues e.g racial inequality

Question 18

media representation: what were the statistics from the research about black owned beauty brands in stores?

Answer 18

• 3% of beauty brands were black owned
• 78% of shoppers said they don’t see enough brands made from people from different ethnic backgrounds
• 2/5 shoppers experienced racial discrimination based on their skin colour in stores - may explain why audience needed more positive representations of ethnicity and beauty

Question 19

media representation: 2 things Sephora did to increase diversity in stores?

Answer 19

• committed to the 15% pledge and increased the number of black-owned brands sold in its stores and online
• closed the stores to give the employees extra diversity training

Question 20

media language: what does the hair salon setting connote and the diegetic sounds?

Answer 20

the hair salon setting is familiar and comforting to audience. old fashioned looking suggests black beauty has been around for ages and you can’t ignore it. the diegetic sounds of laughing suggest confidence

Question 21

media language: what impact does the split screen of the hair brush create?

Answer 21

split screen creates binary opposite between old vs new or past vs present. it draws parallels between black inventions/history and current trends/products e.g the hair brush celebrates Lyda Newman (black female who invented the hairbrush)

Question 22

media language: use of jargon to target a black audience

Answer 22

the use of jargon such as ‘cut creases’ and ‘beat faces’ is targeting a black audience

Question 23

media language: what is the significance of mentioning ‘baby hairs’ and ‘laid edges’?

Answer 23

the media often fails to represent black hair or issues surrounding styling it - ad mentions and shows ‘baby hairs’ and ‘laid edges’ creating a realistic representation of black hair care

Question 24

media language: what is the significance of the woman making her own butter?

Answer 24

mixing bowls in the kitchen creates the idea that many black products are DIY created - reflects context that black people ending up creating their own products as companies were not catering to them

Question 25

media language: what is the significance of mentioning acrylic nails and hair extensions?

Answer 25

draws further attention to products and tools created by minority communities as modern audiences wouldn't know they came from black history

Question 26

media language: what does 'the styles we can't wait to post' connote?

Answer 26

picture in picture and voiceover about posting reflects trend of online beauty videos. may also reflect context of cultural appropriation, where white people have taken credit for ideas created originally by people of colour

Question 27

media language: what does the cut from the white person doing a cut crease to the drag queen doing it reinforce?

Answer 27

reinforces the idea that the trend was originally something from black drag culture - perhaps suggests that LGBTQ+ communities have also started beauty trends that they don't get credit for

Question 28

media language: what does the use of different age, gender, body shape, skin tone show?

Answer 28

shows diversity and that makeup can be used on everyone

Question 29

media language: what does the 12 picture split screen emphasise?

Answer 29

emphasises the number of people involved in the creation of trends and trying to engage and attract people form a variety of backgrounds

Question 30

media language: what does the inclusion of drag queens and males show?

Answer 30

avoids gender stereotyping about makeup - reflects the growing acceptance of makeup being for men too and the rise of male beauty vloggers (more diverse gender representations in the media)

Question 31

what happened in the 1960s and what did this allow?

Answer 31

the decriminalisation of homosexuality act gave way for people to express their identity and be who they want to be

Question 32

media language: what does the 'join sephora' at the end suggest? what's the significance of capitalising the word Black in 'Black beauty?

Answer 32

Sephora is leading the campaign to celebrate black beauty - creates a powerful and supportive representation of the brand (in the past, they has issues with racial profiling within stores e.g SZA do this is a deliberate choice by the brand to present the company as being willing to fight for ethnic diversity). Capitalising the word 'Black' creates message that being Black is powerful

Question 33

Theorist: Judith Butler

Answer 33

- gender performativity - shows women applying makeup and styling their hair - women perform their gender and these performances have been assigned by society to each gender and society expects us to repeat this - subversion of gender norms-men wearing makeup, drag queens - by performing gender differently from the stereotypical expectations, they are challegening and changing gender norms which opens up possibilities of new ways of expressing gender - influence of language - "black is beauty" - advert is embracing and celebrating everyone - use of language highlights inclusive nature of the store and 'join sephora' shows sephora is leading the campaign for change - also used language to change the search engine algorithm #BlackBeauty - Bodies and gender - what we think of as 'natural' differences between men and women are shaped by social norms - advert shows a diverse inclusivity of different body types which challenges societies view - Challenges essentialism - challenges the idea that gender is biologically determined - black drag queens wearing makeup - shows you can be who you want and makeup helps gain confidence and express yourself

Question 34

Theorist: Clay Shirkey

Answer 34

end of audience - audiences are becoming more active - prosumers - the advert promotes to use the hashtag #Blackbeauty on posts - engages audience - shows audience are less passive nowadays and want to take part in movements to change the media for the better "social media is ubiquitous, cheap and global" "internet is site of coordination"