Mumbai: Change is the only constant. And the best part is that all of us who understand this, want to make a change – in ourselves, our professional life, our personal life, in the community, and in our country too, in whatever way we can. When it comes to brands, very few of them truly talk a good game. The Body Shop, undoubtedly, is a brand that walks the talk.
The Body Shop, the original ethical British beauty brand, recently launched a new piece of communication in India, showcasing three remarkable female changemakers who embody the brand’s new signature, “changemaking beauty”. The campaign aims to celebrate and inspire everyone to believe in their own power to effect positive change in the world.
The campaign features three trailblazing women who have made significant impact in their respective fields: Indian actor Shefali Shah, Indian Women’s Football forward Bala Devi, and Anny Divya, the youngest female commander to fly a Boeing 777. In the powerful campaign film, the three women draw from their life experiences across diverse walks of life, united in their belief of the power of positive change. In their own way, the three women are inspiring beacons of self-expression, resilience, and self-love, all key emotional benefits that The Body Shop delivers as a brand.
The campaign will run across all The Body Shop India stores and digital platforms. With this communication campaign, The Body Shop is taking a step towards further embracing Changemaking Beauty in a meaningful way. The brand is expanding its presence rapidly in India and has more than 200 stores in the market.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with The Body Shop vice president of marketing, e-commerce & product, South Asia Harmeet Singh and chatted about the idea behind the film, the campaign being harnessed on different platforms and more.
Edited excerpts:
On the brief for the film
The Body Shop, as a brand, stands for equality and sustainability on all fronts. We are committed to advocating for self-love, self-expression, and resilience. Thus, we sought to showcase these aspects through the new video campaign and capture the brand’s commitment to bringing social and environmental change and celebrating freedom as a Changemaker in the beauty industry.
And so the brief was a simple understanding of brand ethos and merging them with talent as well as idea that brings out the long standing commitment of The Body Shop India.
On the creative thought behind the film
We are the flagbearer for ethical, sustainable beauty and activism. Every aspect of life, including business, education, youth representation, and social engagement, is undergoing a change. Change can be restrictive; unsettling and fearful. But we wanted to bring the spotlight on change as an opportunity to create something new, make an impact and most of all make the world a fair and beautiful world. Thus, the idea behind the campaign was to capture how people from different fields draw inspiration from various aspects of their life and how they stand true to their beliefs, exemplifying courage and a fearless approach. The women featured in the campaign are inspiring icons of self-expression, resilience, and self-love.
On the ‘Changemaking’ campaign being harnessed on different platforms like social media, etc
The Body Shop, at its core, is about creating social and environmental change. Through this campaign, we will work with credible talents so that they can share their inspiring tales of resilience, self-expression and bringing change for themselves or those around them. We are encouraging people, especially women & girls to talk about their own stories, bring forward how they’ve been Changemaker by contributing to our journey of bringing positive change in the world.
Beyond social media, changemaking goes in every customer touchpoint for us. It will be emulated at our activist workshop stores where consumers can experience the elements of changemaking through products and concepts representing the brand’s activist DNA.
On the current 13 activist workshops, the increasing store count, and expansion
We are expanding our retail footprint with a sharp focus on smaller cities and towns. We are launching our new Activist Workshop store formats in as many of our existing stores as possible and are looking at launching 30+ Activist Workshop stores per year till 2025.
India is among the top markets for The Body Shop globally. We are focusing on expanding our base in the current cities along with monitoring and venturing into new markets like Vapi, Rourkela, Varanasi, Imphal, Amravati, and more.
On making The Body Shop brand stand out with this ‘Changemaking’ campaign in a unique and differentiated manner, as compared to a lot of other brands who also promise the same
Our approach to beauty is, and has always been, radically different since its inception in 1976. Every action we take is intended to bring about positive change for you, for the community, and our planet. From Community Fair Trade, to animal rights, to our recycling programme we have challenged business-as-usual by proving a company can be a force for good, and by campaigning for social & environmental justice.
Since its inception in 1979 , The Body Shop, the original – ethical – British beauty brand has worked globally to create a fair & beautiful world. Our founder, Dame Anita Roddick, believed that business can be a force for good. We are constantly, genuinely working to make a positive systemic impact, across society & environment, within beauty culture.
We’re always aiming to create products that work for you, while causing minimal harm to the environment. We use sustainably sourced, natural ingredients and ingredients of natural origin to make them ‘Changemaking for You’.
Our largest Community Fair Trade program was launched in 1987. We source ethical, high-quality ingredients and accessories from thousands of producers, farmers and artisans across the world supporting their families, livelihood and ensuring fair trade. Globally, we have over 30 partners impacting approximately 1500 families, ‘Changemaking for Communities’.
We use Community Fair Trade recycled plastic from India, but also works on accelerating the development of recycling infrastructures and creating a market for waste. Since launching in 2019 we have purchased 2,000 MT of plastic waste from India with over 50 per cent female workforce participation thus doing “Changemaking for Planet.”
On being a ‘Changemaker’ in your own way
This campaign is an extension of our ACTIVIST DNA rooted in our founder’s philosophy, Dame Anita Roddick, to do business as a force for good. Any act of volunteering, charity, advocating for the planet and its people, or even being mindful of their actions can create a significant impact and make them changemakers. With this new campaign in India, we are shedding light on how every individual can be a Changemaker in their own way.
Furthermore, we will be including other genders as well in the changemaking campaign highlighting the brand’s messaging of ‘beauty of change’.
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