Seven out of ten girls aged 10–18 say they wish they looked like a filtered version of themselves. Nearly one in two repeatedly wish they looked like someone else and even young girls are undertaking complicated skincare routines using advance products. Self-esteem is at a low point.
PR agency, Wenderflack, and Swedish pharmacy, Apotek Hjärtat, have given them a new 7-step routine in collaboration with the mental health organisation, Mind. The New 7-Step Routine’s first three steps consist of cleansing, moisturising and sun protection – the only products young skin usually needs. The remaining steps focus on something more important than products – self-esteem. These steps consist of reflection exercises designed to help strengthen young people’s self-worth. The routine is available online for everyone.
Apotek Hjärtat has previously introduced an age limit on advanced skincare products, and the new campaign is a continuation of that stance.
“Advanced skincare routines have become part of many young people’s daily lives, even though the need often isn’t there. That says something about the beauty pressure young people are living under today. The New 7-Step Routine is our way of addressing that development and shifting the focus to something more important: self-esteem,” stated Vera Perlmann, copywriter at Wenderfalck.
The campaign covers outdoor, digital and film executions. In the outdoor work, Apotek Hjärtat borrows the familiar language of skincare but twists it to address self-esteem instead, paired with portraits of young girls performing skincare routines – a reality that feels both recognisable and slightly unsettling. The film initially adopts the look and tone of a classic skincare commercial, before gradually revealing a more uncomfortable reality that challenges the viewer’s assumptions.
Credits:
Client: Apotek Hjärtat
Project Manager: Sophia Lavasani
PR Director: Isabella Rönnmark
PR Agency: Wenderfalck
Art Director: Rikard Linder,
Copywriter: Vera Perlmann
Client Director: Shirin Troëng
Senior Advisor: Fredrik Jerresand
PR Advisor: Ida Aho
PR Consultant: Sara Khosravi,
Producer: Fredrik Emanuel Persson @ Maison FMP
Producer: Nils Nyebølle
Film Production: B-Reel Films
Director: Nicolina Knapp
Executive Producer: Martin Ronström
Producer: Ida Larsson
Stills Production: WEI
Photographer: Maja Johansson
Set Designer: Elin Wallin
MUA: Emike Santos
Producer: Bia Fromell
