David Blecken
Oct 27, 2015

Shiseido's 'high school girls' video democratises beauty

TOKYO - Shiseido has taken an intriguing approach to promoting its makeup products with a video that draws on the concept of ‘bishōnen’, or ‘beautiful male youth’.

Brand: Shiseido

Market: Japan

Name of campaign: 'The secret of high school girls'

Details: Having launched just under two weeks ago, the video has drawn close to 6 million views on YouTube. We will forego any further explanation and leave it to you to unravel the ‘mystery’ that Shiseido presents. Be sure to note the small details, such as the image the teacher holds at the beginning. Campaign Asia-Pacific has not yet been able to ascertain who produced the video. See below for the 'making of'.

Our view: This is an impressive effort to stand out in the sea of blandness makeup advertising so often is. While the ‘secret’ may not remain secret for too long, it's still a visually intriguing exercise. It’s made all the more interesting when considering that, as in countries such as Thailand, China and India, the concepts of male beauty and even an undefined ‘middle gender’ are a historical feature of Japanese art, literature and popular culture.

 

Source:
Campaign Asia

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