Visual imagery is a unique form of communication that allows companies to share their message with the audience. Advertisements help brands to make themselves noticeable among the increasing number of competitors, which is why the role of creative marketing is crucial to the success of the business. In order to generate the most effective content, companies often hire experts who analyze the product’s audience, the clients’ preferences, and relative marketing trends. Glossier is a beauty brand that has managed to attract a cult-like following due to its unique market positioning. Instead of focusing on several products at once, Glossier offers a limited number of skincare and make-up essentials, which adds to its image of simplicity and natural beauty. In one of their latest campaigns, “Feeling like Glossier,” the brand caters directly to their young, diverse, and eccentric audience by featuring a male employee wearing minimal make-up and smiling. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the advertisement combines simple design, a memorable catchphrase, and pink undertones to describe the brand’s identity to a new generation of millennial consumers.
The campaign manages to address the reality of millennial customers by incorporating the idea of ‘less is more.’ The company’s president and chief financial officer Henry Davis describes Glossier target market as a psychographic, instead of focusing on the traditional identification based on age, sex, and marital status (Danziger, 2018). The company imagines its consumers as an open-minded, diverse, and minimalistic community of individuals who share the same values as Glossier. Such values include inner beauty and the idea of make-up making a person feel good rather than look a certain way. These notions resonate with many people globally, but the primary demographic of the company remains the same: young people aged 16 to 27 (Danziger, 2018). The image of Ernest, an offline editor at Glossier’s flagship store in New York City, manages to cater to the target audience by being simple, visually engaging, and easily shareable, which is crucial to the digital generation of young adults. In addition to this, the “Feeling like Glossier” campaign’s means of distribution (social media and other online platforms) contribute to the image of a modern beauty brand for young adults.
In order to examine the advertising image of “Feeling like Glossier,” the context of the picture needs to be analyzed. The photograph of flowers symbolizes nature, while the second photo reemphasizes the ideas of diversity and simple beauty. Glossier’s brand identity is built on the notion of a “fresher, cleaner” look, which is effectively translated in the photo of the flowers that represent natural beauty (Turk, 2020). Ernest, Glossier’s offline editor at one of the stores in New York, demonstrates the ‘no make-up make-up look’ the company is marketing. He is the embodiment of inherent diversity Glossier is known for since he represents racial and gender minorities in the beauty industry. Beauty is “more than products—it’s a feeling that connects people,” which is why Glossier’s campaign focuses on emotions rather than looks (Pearl, 2019). The picture of Ernest smiling and feeling comfortable in his own skin is a visual representation of the company’s values and mission. Glossier’s focus on natural beauty, simplicity, and inner confidence serve as a crucial contextual framework to further analyze the advertisement.
Glossier generate two-way conversations with its customers and employees, which is why the advertisement tries to incorporate a sense of community by featuring employees in the campaign. Glossier executives incorporate behind-the-scenes content in order to push the idea of authenticity further. The company does not just focus on the product features but manages to turn the process of creating new items into an effective communication strategy. Glossier employees are often involved in social media campaigns and act as the brand’s most active ambassadors. Thus, their involvement contributes to the company’s image, which represents truthfulness and attention to detail. Emily Weiss, the founder of Glossier, envisioned that the business would “emphasise communication with its customers, even involving them in the creation of its products” (Turk, 2020). She mentions the importance of creating a network between Glossier team members, ambassadors, and customers. Giving consumers an opportunity to see and interact with people behind their favorite beauty essentials makes the brand more approachable and relatable. The market is full of competitors, which is why using two-way communication as a promotion strategy has worked out for the brand. Glossier focuses on building a community of like-minded individuals, which is why including an employee in the advertisement has been an effective strategy to demonstrate the brand’s vision to customers and the Glossier team.
The purpose behind the image presented in the “Feeling like Glossier” campaign is to show potential customers the company’s values and attitude. The image reinforces the idea of who constitutes Glossier clientele. Rather than selling a specific product, Glossier sets out to popularize the feeling of using its products, the lifestyle associated with the brand, as well as empower young women and men to feel confident. The advertisement pushes people to “move away from the idea of using make-up to cover up perceived imperfections” (Turk, 2020). This contributes to the overall idea of a ‘Glossier customer.’ They are passionate, bold, and creative. They value simplicity and raw beauty. It is apparent that the campaign manages to connect positive emotions with Glossier products, but it does so in a very creative way. More importantly, the advertisement caters to a specific audience that can relate to the person in the picture. Glossier does not promote its products but rather creates a sense of belonging for people who have the same lifestyles and values.
Glossier executives view make-up as a means of creative expression, which is why the tone of the advertisement is lively and fun. Colorful flowers and a young man smiling manage to appeal to a younger, upbeat audience that the campaign is targeting. Make-up, therefore, is not used to look different, but rather experience a certain positive feeling, which the company branded as ‘Glossier.’ The arrangement of the advertisement’s key elements is simple so that there is no overpowering between the photographs and the slogan. Ernest serves as an example of Glossier’s visual storytelling and remains the focal point of the image. “Feeling like Glossier” is placed in the center using large letters because the background photos are too bright and visually stimulating and can overshadow the campaign’s slogan. The font used for ‘Glossier’ is unique to the company, which serves as an unofficial logo and manages to appeal to the young audience by being playful and minimalistic.
The color scheme used for the image is pink due to the company’s aesthetic. According to Victoria Turk, Glossier’s signature white and pale pink colors are effective in marketing to a younger generation since experiencing Glossier for the first time is “like putting on rose-tinted glasses” (2020). Both photographs featured in the advertisement have a slight pink tint, which does not only reflect the brand’s identity but plays into the idea of playfulness and liveliness, associated with a younger generation of consumers.
In conclusion, Glossier’s visual rhetoric used in the creation of the “Feeling like Glossier” campaign manages to target a millennial audience in order to share the message of natural beauty and self-love. The images utilized in the advertisement reflect Glossier’s values for existing and potential customers. The simplicity in the photographs and the slogan effectively demonstrate the brand’s aesthetic. Moreover, the concept of feeling a certain way with the help of make-up, rather than looking different, is reflected in every element of the advertisement. The use of color adds to the sensory experience and represents the playfulness of Glossier as a modern beauty brand.
Works Cited
Danziger, Pamela. “5 Reasons that Glossier Is So Successful.” Forbes, 2018, Web.
Pearl, Diana. “Glossier’s Biggest Campaign Ever Is All about Real People.” Adweek, 2019, Web.
Turk, Victoria. “How Glossier Turned Itself into a Billion-Dollar Beauty Brand.” Wired, 2020, Web.