“Untold Beauty”

Client: Unilever
Agency: Arc Worldwide

In 2022, Unilever launched Untold Beauty to increase representation of multicultural shoppers in the beauty and personal care (BPC) category at Walgreens. The omnichannel campaign featuring the Shea Moisture, Vaseline and Dove brands showcased multicultural imagery accompanied by beauty narratives that had historically gone unheard. 

Despite the program’s success, its creators believed it had room to grow. On the business side, multicultural shoppers continued to purchase most of their BPC products elsewhere. While they made 22 trips to Walgreens, they only purchased the BPC category on five of those occasions. Other retailers were capturing 90% of their total wallet in the category.

To address this challenge, Unilever saw an opportunity to expand Untold Beauty to a wider audience through Walgreens Advertising Group, while featuring additional products and a strengthened purpose. Primary and secondary research was deployed to understand the pain points around both the product and retail experience for multicultural shoppers. 

“The modern multicultural shopper doesn’t just want top-quality products and services,” says Jessica Bydlak, vice president of strategy at Arc Worldwide. “They view the products they purchase and the retailers they shop as an extension of their personality, values and identity, as well as a meaningful way to connect with others who share their values and experiences. All of the other brands and retailers were offering discounts and offers — our point of difference was to offer community and commitment to their unique needs.”

In a change from its previous influencer strategy, Unilever and Walgreens formed a partnership with The Moth, a New York-based nonprofit that works within local communities to share uplifting stories through live “Slam” events. The idea was to meet shoppers where they were — on the streets, in Walgreens parking lots and in stores. “We knew our shoppers had some amazing stories, and although they weren’t content creators, we knew they could be — with a little help,” says Katie McElligott, vice president of creative at Arc Worldwide.

“We decided a more powerful way to approach representation authentically would be to show the actual community through their own images and stories,” adds Kelvin Hill, associate creative director at Arc Worldwide. “We were able to accomplish this by having real conversations with shoppers at Walgreens — authentic, unscripted, on-the-spot dialogue. These came to life in year two in some of the same places across the Walgreens retail media, but also expanded our reach into digital out of home and the Moth’s ecosystem.”

Highlights of these conversations were featured during the Moth Radio podcast hour, which aired through in-store audio at Walgreens stores, and at Slam events in Chicago, New York and Miami. Images captured throughout the events were displayed across a series of digital out-of-home ads, with activation in the retail media network providing the greatest reach and impact. Stories that stopped the scroll on Walgreens’ social platforms informed but also inspired shoppers to click through to the brand page on Walgreens.com.

Untold Beauty exceeded expectations with a 6.36% conversion rate and $21.29 directional ROAS, doubling and tripling respective benchmarks. The partners note that the ultimate success is the meaningful impact of the program in the communities and lives of Walgreens’ shoppers.

“Through our groundbreaking partnerships with Walgreens, alongside the profound collaboration with The Moth, our platform emerges as a testament to inclusivity and empowerment, celebrating diversity and amplifying stories untold,” says Mary Drapp, health and beauty shopper marketing lead at Unilever.

“While The Moth has partnered with brands in the past, they have never worked holistically across all of their offerings to do storytelling workshops and sponsored events,” adds McElligott. “It was a rare opportunity for both The Moth and Arc to work together, and we both embraced it. Together, we were able to create a new chorus of voices while breaking down walls in the commerce.”