In a month where we’re inundated with breast cancer awareness ads and pink everywhere you look, this spot is a refreshing and moving take on funding breast cancer research. It’s quiet. It’s real. It’s moving. And it makes it’s point in a different, unexpected way.
The spot opens with a quiet, elegant sound track as the visuals cut between simple words over a white screen and snippets of testimonial from women who’ve had to deal with breast cancer. This part is nothing new or ground-breaking. But, it’s done well. The twist is that Ulta Beauty opens up a pop-up store for their products and when the shoppers ask, after being taken care of by a helpful, knowledgeable salesperson, “how much is it?” – it’s the answer that gives you pause. They are told “7 minutes,” “24 minutes” and “12 minutes.” The ladies look at the salesperson in confusion until it’s explained that cost of this lipstick or perfume would fund x minutes of breast cancer research. All the products are priced in minutes of research time instead.
The spot does a nice job of selling the product and the company within the spot, but also making people aware of their cause and enlisting them to help. The end by telling us that with our help, over 16-million minutes of research has been funded. They also use the hashtag #gorgeouswaytogive to give it some legs in social.
Ulta Beauty – Time is a Beautiful Thing
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. As always, if you have a suggestion for ad of the week, just let me know. See you next week!
Mike McClure, counting the minutes…
