Estée Lauder skincare brand says think twice about Black Friday shopping

Here’s a new one: a company is telling people not to rush into buying something on Black Friday.

The Ordinary, a skincare brand that is part of The Estée Lauder Companies, launched a campaign, Slowvember, that encourages consumers “to shop more wisely—and not succumb to Black Friday sales hype.”

The skincare brand worked with agencies Soursop and For the Right Reasons on the campaign, which launched November 1.

The campaign helps The Ordinary by emphasising “the brand’s P.O.V. of avoiding flashy sales and irrational buying,” Annie Chiu, Soursop executive creative director, said via email to Campaign. “Its main goal is to help educate consumers by focusing on shopping wisely and being intentional when it comes to your purchasing choices.”

The month-long marketing effort will feature full-page advertisements in The New York Times and The Guardian; social media content; out-of-home advertisements; and posters in Los Angeles, New York, London and Toronto. The posters feature a discount code for The Ordinary products.

“With this campaign, we wanted to get beauty fans to think twice before falling for Black Friday hype,” Chiu stated. “Rather than shopping mindlessly, we are inviting The Ordinary customers to take the same mindful and sustainable approach to shopping as they do to their skincare. In an era where consumer trust in brands is at an all-time low, we need companies like The Ordinary to take a stance and treat their customers with respect.”

The newspaper advertisements feature a title, “Don’t Rush,” capitalized and in large font, followed by a list of 10 tips for shopping on Black Friday.

A TikTok Slowvember post features a woman wearing a lab coat knocked over by a person wearing an outfit in the shape of an Ordinary product holding a sign that says, “Slowvember Tmrw.”

Estée Lauder completed its acquisition of The Ordinary owner Deciem Beauty Group in June this year, having first invested in the Canadian-based skincare company in 2017. The Ordinary is now in Estée Lauder’s tier of scaling brands, each with net sales of between $500 million and $1 billion.