Celebrity endorsements have always aided companies in reaching global audiences and gaining a bigger market share. In 2014, actor Lupita Nyong’o became an Ambassador for the famous beauty brand Lancôme. It is essential to understand how Nyong’o’s campaign with this brand elevated it to a higher standard within the beauty industry and just how impactful the use of a celebrities’ brand identity can be. Commercialization with celebrity campaigns gives the companies the ability reaches transcultural consumers on transmedia platforms.
Nyong’o was a perfect choice for the campaign as the beauty industry has put more emphasis on cultural appreciation in recent years. Stronger endorsements normally come from a place where consumers can connect with the celebrity on an emotional and cultural level (Carrillat, 2019). As the first Black Ambassador of Lancôme and a new figure in the film industry, she gave a sense of empowerment and signs that times were changing. Nyong’o had a vision to not only promote the makeup products but to also spread a message of female empowerment and well-being (Lancôme, 2014). This shows the correlation between her and Lancôme as the ethos has always been premium quality products for the ‘unique women’ of the world.
The choice was also feasible due to the celebrities’ large presence on social media. The accusation of celebrity capital is heavily influenced by their engagement with their audiences (Carrillat, 2019). From starring in global blockbusters, Black Panther and 12 Years a Slave, to having 9 Million Instagram followers, Nyong’o had a reputation that suited Lancôme as she exuded a powerful persona.
The campaign was proven to be quite a success and helped to land Lancôme in new markets. Countries such as Kenya opened stores with Nyong’o being the face of the brand (Caldwell,2015). This was their first East-African deal and Nyong’o encouraged a new sense of identity within the demographic. This is an exceptional development regarding commercialisation as it questions the ideal beauty standards. For centuries, black women were portrayed as less beautiful and less famine within the beauty industry (Meeta, 2015). Nyong’o, herself has struggled with self-image and grew up insecure about her dark features yet pushed herself to break conventional stereotypes (Trebay, 2014). Beauty has been highly Americanised throughout the world with a fixation on a single type of beautiful. This makes the Nyong’o campaign so refreshing and new as it presents a diverse form of beauty in the media.
Lupita is conveyed as an advocate for women’s empowerment and it is evident that her beliefs are forefront to the beauty products themselves (Lancôme, 2014). The relationship between beauty and culture is a complex conundrum that many people have struggled with their whole lives, promoting activism from many cultures over the years (Gill, 2010). The representation of ethnicity and gender within this campaign illustrates the ever-changing world of commercialisation. It took Lancôme 79 years to offer black representation within their brand and solidifies the idea that a celebrity holds much more influence than expected. The dedication to create products such as foundations for different skin tones demonstrates the improvements and consumers have trust in Nyong’o that the shades will actually suit darker skin (Underwood, 2018). Many other brands such as Fenty Beauty have aspired to create beauty products with heavy emphasis on every skin tone rather than just the western ideal of beauty. However, there must be more ‘glocalization’ developed within the beauty industry. Various cultures still lack representation on a global scale so there is hope for more diversification among celebrities and endorsements in the future (Meeta, 2015).
To conclude, Commercialization and global media culture have an intertwining connection. Companies rely heavily on their endorsements as celebrities have access to such a vast social media following which allows brands to experience media convergence. The reputation and beliefs of the celebrity also helps to build brand awareness on various global platforms thus reinstating the idea a celebrity’s persona is vital for commercialization. They are essential to challenging cultural with the use of their cross-cultural platforms.
Carrillat, F (2019) 'The Celebrity Capital Life Cycle: A Framework for Future Research Directions on Celebrity Endorsement' Journal of Advertising.
Meeta, J (2015) The global beauty industry: colorism, racism, and the national body, Routlege.
Zhang H, (2020) ‘Fashion cewebrity involvement in new product development: Scale development and an empirical study’, Journal of Business Research, Volume 120, Pages 321-329.
Wolf, N (2015) ‘The Beauty myth: how imahes of beauty are used against women’ Vintage Digital.
Gill, T (2010) ‘Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry’University of Illonois Press.
The Business of Fashion (2014) Lancome Taps Lupita Nyong'o As First Black Ambassador. [online] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/lancome-taps-lupita-nyongo-first-black-ambassador[Accessed 16 November 2020].
Lancome.co.uk (2014) Lancome: The Beauty Of Happiness. [online] Available at: https://www.lancome.co.uk/discover-lancome/beauty-of-happiness/#female-empowerment[Accessed 27 November 2020].
BBC News (2014) Lupita Nyong'o Gets Lancome Deal After Oscar-Winning Role.. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26889389[Accessed 27 November 2020].
Trebay, G., 2014. Capitalizing On Her Leap To Stardom (Published 2014). [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/fashion/lupita-nyongo-beauty-lancome.html[Accessed 15 November 2020].
Underwood, K., (2018.)The Foundations That Melanin Queens Actually Use. [online] Refinery29.com. Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/12/184190/liquid-foundation-for-dark-skin#slide-9[Accessed 15 November 2020].
Comments