The Brand
In the luxury hair care category, Kérastase has no peer. With an undeniable heritage behind it—they invented luxury hair care in the 1960s—the brand makes elite Parisian beauty rituals a reality in salons and homes around the world. As the brand moved into the ‘20s, it modernized its messaging without losing its classic dedication to excellence.
The Task
When the blonde craze washed over the millennial generation, Kérastase saw the perfect opportunity to apply its well-known “care first” philosophy to a new set of attitudes around hair and individuality. They found that every faux-blonde has her own feelings and philosophies about the color and how it sparks her soul. One thing they all have in common? None of them wants to choose between gorgeous blonde and healthy, opulent hair. They want it all. And they want it fresh. Kérastase was set to respond with the breakthrough Blond Absolu range. But it needed an updated brand voice that would make the current generation feel seen and understood.
The Execution
When You Dare, We Care became the tag line for the Blond Absolu launch campaign, we created an entire mythology around the attitude of the blond and the ballsiness associated with the type of woman who chooses to take the plunge into blondness. The idea was to set up Blond Absolu as a kind of safety net, so anyone could be the blond they wanted to be without worrying so much about dryness, damage or brassiness. Go ahead and dare to do it, says Kérastase. Go blonde. We’ll be there, on the other side, with the very best care for your hair. The project yielded publicity materials, web editorial, social media content and product stories all revolving around the idea of boldness with no compromise. Kérastase was able to strengthen its excellence message while evolving its image as a traditional Parisian beauty brand to secure its status as a modern global haircare powerhouse. The campaign also became the basis for the brand’s fast-developing inclusivity message, with a diverse group of nine women showing that there are many ways to interpret blonde.
The Result
With its bold message and diverse incarnation of femininity, Blond Absolu became the bestselling range in the history of Kérastase. But the impact of the campaign was much larger than that, even. Unexpected by the industry, this organic display of diversity inspired a new set of possibilities for the brand. You Dare, We Care became a rallying cry for its inclusivity efforts, as well as a fresh brand-wide statement. The message now reverberates throughout every aspect of the brand, bolstering industry-changing, inclusivity-focused launches like the innovative luxury hair loss line Genesis, the revolutionary curl care range Curl Manifesto and Chroma Absolu, which extends the concept of Blond Absolu to all shades of color treated hair.
