Glossier's 'Vote for You' Campaign: A Beautiful Ballot
"Vote for you". These three words are written point blank across the center of a woman’s cleavage. Framing the image, two sentences read: “Vote for your daughter’s future. Vote for your grandmother’s legacy.” This simple yet striking statement lies at the heart of Glossier’s new campaign, which cleverly aligns the release of their two new You perfumes with the energy of the upcoming presidential election.
With US elections impending, Glossier launched an initiative that merges their latest fragrance release with voter advocacy. The campaign's billboard and digital ads are a picture of a woman’s cleavage captioned ‘Vote for you,’ across her chest. The ad also includes a voter registration link which cleverly makes reference to the You perfume, while having a deeper message of vote for your body and reproductive rights. The ads will appear on billboards, mass transit, and college campuses in key swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan (Business of Fashion). By primarily focusing on these states, Glossier aims to promote voter registration amongst female voters in swing states. Swing states are states where the two primary political parties, Republican and Democrat, have very close likelihoods of winning the state. These swing states are very essential for both parties because their alliance to a party varies each election.
Glossier's campaign builds upon the brand's long-lasting success amongst both pop culture relevancy and political advocacy. Known for their minimal yet innovative marketing, especially their signature font used across their digital media, beauty, and skincare products, Glossier has forged a reputation as a versatile brand that successfully appeals to audiences of all ages. However, the brand has become particularly well-loved by younger generations in American metropolitan cities, where their only flagship stores are located. The brand is also very proactive in regards to political issues, frequently collaborating with high-profile female figures. Recently, Glossier has been displaying ‘Register to Vote’ banners at the WNBA playoffs and packaging ‘voting’ stickers in each of their iconic pink pouches that accompany an order from the Glossier website.
Beauty and politics are two completely different arenas that rarely intersect. When I think of Glossier or any other beauty brand, I rarely think of their political beliefs. Instead, I think of Glossier’s Balm DotComs (my favorite is their Cookie Butter one), recent Tik Tok makeup trends (e.g. the Cheetah makeup that took over Halloween), and the latest liquid blush that I want my hands on.
But through this advertisement, Glossier positions themselves as a forward-thinking, inclusive, and politically aware brand. Beyond promoting voter advocacy through social media and billboard advertisements, Glossier has also announced donations towards “Ignite National, an organisation focused on training young women to run for public office, and Reproductive Freedom for All, the non-profit formerly known as NARAL,” (Business of Fashion). This simple yet touching campaign is a testament to Glossier’s powerful brand messaging, as well as their intent to push meaningful political conversations into traditionally non-political spaces.
