The Non-Issue
L’Oreal Paris
Issue 51 | June 2019
Agency
McCann London and McCann Paris
Creative Team
ECD Beauty Team, Paris Julien Calot Creative Director, London Regan Warner ECD McCann Worldgroup Rob Brown, ECD, Creative President, Paris Riccardo Fregoso Chief Creative Officers, McCann UK and Co- Presidents, McCann London Laurence Thomson, Rob Doubal Directrice Conseil Beauty Team, L’Ore´al Paris Muriel Lapeyre
Other Credits
Beauty Team President, Paris Charlotte Franceries Creative Excellence Manager, Europe Carmen Bistrian Head of Social Media, Paris Pierre-Jean Bernard Global Account Director, Paris Muriel Lapeyre Client Directrice Conseil Beauty Team Muriel Lapeyre
Date
April 2019
Background
Ageism is an often-overlooked form of discrimination, unconsciously accepted by many people in everyday life.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the beauty and fashion industries, let alone the wider media landscape, where women over 50 were conspicuous by their absence.
L’Ore´al Paris wanted to alert people to the issue and make it a non-issue. And who better to partner with than one of the world’s most iconic fashion and beauty publications, British Vogue.
Idea
The May issue of Vogue was designed to be a “Non-Issue” magazine, featuring on the cover the iconic actress and L’Ore´al Paris ambassador, Jane Fonda.
The special edition of British Vogue included world-class editorial, fashion and beauty content, featuring the lives and perspectives of inspirational and trail-blazing women, all over the age of 50. As well as an interview with Jane Fonda, other L’Ore´al Paris ambassadors featured included Helen Mirren, Isabelle Adjani and global celebrated make-up artist Val Garland.
The special edition also featured a global- first QR code, for readers to access exclusive behind the scenes content including the “The Making of the Non-Issue” via Facebook Messenger.
Edward Enninful, Editor of British Vogue, said “Age discrimination exists and this issue is dedicated to all the women who feel left behind by the beauty and fashion industries because of their age. Now is our moment to challenge the industry, together.”
Results
The May issue of British Vogue featuring the “Non-Issue” issue in partnership with L’Ore´al was available from newsstands on Friday 5 April 2019 and as a digital download. Though intended as a brand- building piece, immediate stats show there were 19 million organic impressions with no paid media and the magazine attracted 40,000 new readers in just two weeks.
Our Thoughts
I’ve seen data that explains that over 50% of all make-up in the UK is bought by women over the age of 50. Yet only 5% of all advertising is aimed at this age-group. In bucking the trend of advertisers’ obsession with millennials, L’Ore´al is being savvy. It’s not just that boomers control 75% of the wealth of the UK (and about the same in the USA), they are also dynamic and motivated. 28% of British start-ups are started up by pensioners and yet, as a demographic, they are patronised when not ignored. L’Ore´al is befriending an entire generation, which will express its friendliness in return with hard cash at the beauty counter.