SHISEIDO HK fuses creativity with AI in new branding campaign

SHISEIDO has blended creativity with artificial intelligence (AI) in a branding campaign to promote a trio of its signature skin care products.

Also known as "SHISEIDO beauty sync along" the campaign is done in collaboration with local creative agency Narrow Door, media agency iProspect and PR agency Innocept. It kickstarted in April and will run through the quarter. The campaign aims to reimagine the intersection between beauty, art and algorithm in the marketing realm, and open up possibilities for a new era of tech-inspired creativity.

SHISEIDO has deployed various generative AI tools to visualise the physical, mental and emotional benefits of SHISEIDO beauty sync trio (原美三重奏) as experienced by four members of the Hong Kong boyband MIRROR, Keung To, Anson Lo, Ian Chan and Edan Lui. The result is a collection of colours, patterns and images such as flowing lines and blossoming floral motifs.

As part of the campaign, SHISEIDO has released a video showcasing Keung, Lo, Chan, and Lui wearing bio-sensors that capture the brainwaves and electric impulses generated while they are dancing.

The data are then transformed into AI algorithms that generate images of flowing lines and blossoming floral patterns synchronised to the music and the body movements of the four idols, curating a kaleidoscopic feast for the audience’s eyes. The floral graphics feature the signature Safflower, the ingredient of SHISEIDO VITAL PERFECTION creams.

The launch video is followed by four individual versions, each featuring its own music score and AI-generated visual art to highlight the distinctive style and personality of a different MIRROR member, while highlighting the efficacy of the products in empowering the pursuit of beauty and emotional wellbeing. The videos are launched on digital TV and major social media platforms.

To close the communication loop and drive traffic to POS locations, the campaign is complemented by a quartet of six-second tactical spots. In each, a different MIRROR boy urges his fans to visit a store to experience the SHISEIDO skin visualiser, powered by technology to make facial scans for the users’ beauty circulation, prompt them with questions, then make skincare recommendations based on a comprehensive analysis of different parts of their faces.

Gloria Ho, president and managing director, Shiseido Hong Kong, said: “Innovation has always been a hallmark of the brand SHISEIDO in the group. This time, we wanted to take innovation one big step forward by making the campaign as innovative as the products themselves. We have a great product story that resonates with the latest SHISEIDO holistic beauty philosophy.With AI, we can tell it like it has never been told."

The campaign is built around a core message that, the brand's thoughts, emotions and beauty are all interconnected. Emotions create different brainwaves which cause subtle changes to skin beauty. The spokesperson said SHISEIDO beauty sync trio, including the ULTIMUNE, SHISEIDO EUDERMINE and VITAL PERFECTION, can improve skin radiance, lifting and firming and bring forth the beauty of skin reborn.

Terry Tsang, director, Narrow Door, said: “The campaign showcases the creative possibilities that can be unleashed by technology. Artificial intelligence provides an incomparably broad canvas for the expression of SHISEIDO’s innovative beauty vision.”

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Narrow Door for more information. 

Back in September last year, SHISEIDO appointed actress Anne Hathaway as brand ambassador of VITAL PERFECTION. 

"Hathaway collaborated with us through the entire creative process to craft VITAL PERFECTION’s personal expression. ‘Potential has no age’ is a universal truth. VITAL PERFECTION’s groundbreaking technologies and formulation work to deliver what your skin is capable of by nourishing, protecting and harmonising,” says Echo Lo, deputy chief brand officer of SHISEIDO global brand unit.

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world!

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