Sephora taps Seth Rogen for holiday beauty-gifting campaign

By Elena Vasquez

Sephora will launch its 30- and 60-second “We All Sephora” campaign on Thursday, Oct. 29, across connected and linear television, streaming and social in the U.S. and Canada, according to the retailer’s press release.

The retailer cast “The Studio” star and co-creator Seth Rogen to address a specific holiday problem: gift-givers who want presents for friends and family but do not understand beauty products. In the ads, Rogen discusses a shopping list with an in-store Sephora advisor and fumbles through choosing gifts for people in his life, according to the press release.

Dive’s campaign analysis characterized the move as a departure from Sephora’s core base of informed beauty shoppers. The strategy instead centers on novices who want to remove guesswork from the purchase. Rogen supplies humor and an approachable everyman quality, the publication said, while the ads make Sephora’s in-store beauty advisors central to the service.

Sephora’s press release says Rogen curated a product list for the retailer’s app and website, extending the recommendation role played by the store advisor. Together, those features let a shopper move from an uncertain gift idea to a specific product without relying on prior beauty knowledge, according to Dive’s analysis of the campaign mechanism.

The 30- and 60-second spot follows Rogen into a Sephora, where he immediately asks an assistant named Charlotte for guidance. He misunderstands setting sprays and calls pimple patches “face stickers.” Charlotte corrects him and helps select gifts likely to land with his loved ones, including matching red light-emitting diode masks that Rogen wears with his mother, according to the press release.

The teaser spelling at The Grove was “Sethpora,” while the finished spot closes on an exterior labeled “Sethphora.” Sephora had previewed the partnership at its location in The Grove in Los Angeles and through social posts last week. The brick-and-mortar makeover and social teasers were meant to build anticipation for the Oct. 29 launch. Rogen is based in Los Angeles, according to the press release.

Agency Gut New York created “We All Sephora,” and Jason Woliner directed the ads. The casting also draws on Rogen’s current entertainment momentum. Dive reported that the actor is riding awards buzz for “The Invite,” an A24 comedy he co-stars in with director Olivia Wilde. He is also building excitement for season two of “The Studio,” the acclaimed Hollywood satire he co-created, produces and stars in.

Celebrity casting has become an important part of Sephora’s holiday mix, Dive reported. Last year, the LVMH-owned retailer partnered with Mariah Carey on a Q4 campaign that riffed on the inescapable “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Previous holiday work also featured Billy Eichner as a disgruntled elf determined to upset the seasonal cheer.

LVMH’s momentum provides a favorable backdrop for the launch. The group reported strong growth across all markets for Sephora in Q3 in an earnings statement published earlier this month. Sephora sits within LVMH’s selective retailing division, which posted 6% organic revenue growth during the first nine months of the year, according to the statement.

Target is addressing the same gift-giver need with a seasonal campaign built around a fictional academy. Its departments and faculty members specialize in categories such as toys and value-friendly gifting ideas, according to Dive’s review of competing holiday campaigns.

For Sephora, the Oct. 29 launch tests whether store advice and digital product curation can convert hesitant holiday shoppers. Its Q4 sales will indicate whether that approach extends the growth LVMH reported in the first nine months.