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THE WORK | VICE MEDIA, VIRTUE Urban Decay ‘Pretty Different’ Global Rebrand and Campaign
THE CHANNELS | Brand Book, Style Guide, Rebrand launch video (;60, :30, :15, :06s in 1:1, 9:16, 16:9), Outdoor, In Store Marketing, Social, Creative Toolkit
MY ROLE | Group Creative Director: Conceptualized copy + creative. Directed, and co-collaborated on strategy.
Core Team:
Account Director: Becca Babin
Strategy Lead: Theresa Lee
Creative: Emery Weisenthal
THE STRATEGY | Urban Decay has championed being different since it launched in 1996, declaring in its original press release that the products were “for the eyes, nails, lips and skin of girls and boys who want to rattle the notion of what beauty is and put their own stamp on it.” In the 23 years since the brand launch, Instagram tutorials of perfect artistry have replaced the department store standards of the ‘90s. The definition ‘sameness’ has changed, but the pressure to conform to beauty standards still persists.
To develop a campaign that would help reinforce the brand’s mission to challenge the status quo, Urban Decay worked with Virtue to create Pretty Different; reminding people that makeup is for anyone and everyone and should always be fun, untamed and unexpected. With the launch of Pretty Different, Urban Decay is rejecting the monotony that continues to run through the beauty industry in an anthem that embraces unapologetic individuality.
THE RESULTS | The Pretty Different campaign is the most effective campaign in brand history, building brand awareness and positive sentiment with existing and new customers – winning an Beauty Editorial AICP in 2020.
Results by the numbers:
Over 1B social impressions globally
Most positively reviewed campaign in UD history with 99% positive sentiment
#1 performing Instagram video in UD history with 4.2M organic views (against benchmark 1M views)
#1 performing YouTube video in UD history on press embargo day with +100k organic views
Garnered 250 global press stories with 600M PR impressions with placements in Allure, Refinery29, People Español, Elle Russia, Billboard, the Daily Mail, AdAge and more