London International Awards
2022 Winners and Finalists
Bronze
Online Film
Branded Content
| Entrant: | Digitas, New York |
| Brand: | Sephora |
| Title: | "The Beauty of Blackness" |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Sephora, San Francisco |
| Executive Producer, Marketing Director, Campaign & Content, Sephora: | Candace Payne |
| Executive Producer, Global Chief Purpose Officer and CMO, Sephora Americas: | Deborah Yeh |
| VP, Brand Marketing, Sephora: | Celessa Baker |
| Media Companies: | Vox Creative, New York/Vox Media, New York |
| VP, Creative, Vox Creative: | Heather Pieske |
| VP of Stories, Vox Creative: | Kiana Moore |
| Producer, Vox Creative: | Josh Levine |
| Editor, Vox Creative: | Michael Goodier |
| Assistant Editor, Digital Image Technician, Vox Creative: | Frank Slodysko |
| Client Company: | Sephora |
| Agency: | Digitas, New York |
| Chief Creative Officer, NA, Digitas: | Atit Shah |
| Associate Content Director, Digitas: | Ben Wagner |
| EVP, Head of Content, Digitas: | Mark Book |
| SVP, Head of Content, Head of Vox Creative: | Armando Turco |
| SVP, Head of Media (West) & National Paid Social Lead, Digitas: | Danisha Lomax |
| SVP, Head of Media, Digitas: | Kristin Scheve |
| VP, Content Director, Digitas: | Katherine Saxon |
| Production Company: | Ventureland, Culver City |
| Director: | Tiffany Johnson |
| Executive Producer, SVP, Integrated Marketing and Brand, Sephora: | Abigail Jacobs |
| Executive Producer, Ventureland: | Natasha Wellesley |
| Producers, Ventureland: | Nick Boak/Ashely Watson |
| Supervising Producer, Ventureland: | Ashely Watson |
| Cinematographer: | Ruben Contreas |
Description:
Founded in the 1970s by Eunice Johnson of Ebony and Jet fame, the brand revolutionized the beauty industry, creating makeup for Black women by Black women, at a time when most cosmetics companies largely pretended they didn't exist. The company paved the way for a new generation of Black glamour—and in 2021, they returned to it again in partnership with Sephora.
Filmed over the course of 16 months by two Black women directors, the film gives viewers a front-row look at the massive undertaking that goes into reviving a Black heritage brand amidst new cultural context.
It spotlights the colorism and inequity of the cosmetics industry and explores Fashion Fair's rapid rise, enduring legacy, and eventual hiatus—and how two Black women are breathing new life into the iconic brand in collaboration with Sephora.
How it came together: The execution began with a ‘story hunt’ where we spoke to over 250 historians, models, Black entrepreneurs, editors, makeup artists and more over 10 weeks to understand the history of the Black beauty industry and find the most salient and important stories among this rich pool of interviewees.
In March 2022, The Beauty of Blackness was acquired and is now available on a major streaming platform.
Purpose behind the work: Sephora is on a mission to fundamentally change the beauty industry, by not only creating space, but also by telling vital stories.
This feature length documentary and content investment is a first for the Sephora brand and comes on the heels of Sephora signing the “15% Pledge,” a public commitment to dedicating 15% of its inventory to products from Black-owned businesses.
The Beauty of Blackness is just one way Sephora is spotlighting Black entrepreneurs, Black-owned brands and the consumers they serve. And one part of Sephora’s larger commitment to give Black culture the respect and position it deserves in the beauty community.