The Louvre x Lancôme campaign demonstrates the impact that a strategic idea can have on brand transformation. By leveraging the iconic status of the Louvre, the collaboration strategically taps into cultural resonance, enticing younger demographics and revitalizing Lancôme's prestige and modernity. Merging art and beauty, the campaign transcends aesthetics, championing diversity, emotions, and values, influencing culture as a whole beyond the category.

At the time of the brief, Lancôme was facing a challenge in brand perception. The brand was losing its desirability as a luxury beauty brand especially amongst the younger consumers. Furthermore, the luxury market, especially in China and the US, was increasingly driven by a thirst for cultural experiences and brand collaborations. In this context, the objective of this collaborative campaign was to leverage the Louvre's global attractivity and cultural significance to reaffirm Lancôme's modernity and prestige amongst the younger generation.

In the ongoing conversation surrounding feminism and gender equality, a concerning trend emerges: the societal stigma attached to women's interest in beauty. Despite strides towards autonomy and empowerment, the desire to enhance one's appearance through skincare routines and makeup remains unfairly judged as superficial and vain. This scrutiny not only undermines women's autonomy but also perpetuates outdated stereotypes. For Lancôme, a brand that believes in the power that beauty has as a tool for self-expression, empowerment, and self-care, it was crucial to challenge these negative perceptions.

We began the process by gaining a deeper understanding of Lancôme's consumer brand perception. The brand faced particular challenges among younger consumers in the US and China, where it was often seen as "my mom's brand," "timeless but somewhat stagnant," and "elegant but lacking edge." It became clear that this collaboration needed to transcend mere aesthetics and instead serve as an institutional campaign conveying a compelling brand message. Given that Lancôme's target demographic is women aged 18-34 who are passionate about beauty, exhibit low brand loyalty, and constantly experiment with new brands and products, it was evident that the brand needed to establish an emotional connection with this audience in order to attract them. Our ambition was to make Lancôme the brand that is able to shift the discourse surrounding beauty.

The strategic process commenced with an in-depth exploration of Lancôme and the Louvre's shared values and overarching message. Lancôme delved into the Louvre's rich history alongside its experts, while the Louvre familiarized itself with Lancôme's brand mission at its ecological sanctuary, Domaine de la Rose, in Grasse. From this process, we came to understand that there was a shared universal value that ties Lancôme and the Louvre together: the search for beauty. Collaborating closely with local teams, particularly in Shanghai, we deciphered cultural nuances surrounding art, Lancôme’s brand perception, and the notion of beauty. One of the challenges faced was choosing which pieces to feature from the Louvre, as the museum is home to more than 33,000 masterpieces. This was overcome by focusing on the stories of women that are told through the masterpieces, especially the figures that represent strength, confidence, individuality, and universality.

The creative idea behind this campaign was to demonstrate the universality and intrinsic nature of beauty throughout history and various cultures. By merging the worlds of beauty and art, the goal was to celebrate the notion of “beauty” beyond aesthetics, exploring also its diversity, emotions, and values. We then sought to draw parallels between each member of Lancôme’s diverse community of ambassadors with the masterpieces of the Louvre based on the stories and cultural significance of each piece that be relevant to each ambassador.

The campaign, deployed across 30 countries, 7.5 bilion in total reach, globally generated a total earned media value of 20 million euros. The campaign boosted brand engagement in China as the #1 trending topic on Weibo and the hashtag #lancomexlouvre generated 69.6 million views on TikTok alone. The campaign was perceived positively with 91% positive mentions in China, 74% in France and 61% in the US. In terms of brand perception, it particularly boosted the vectors of elegance, luxury, and empowerment of the brand, also developing new brand associations as “arty” and as a “brand with heritage”. Furthermore, the campaign had a clear impact on recruitment, with a 40% increase in Chinese retail touchpoints, a 52% increase in new customers in Japan, attracting younger consumers with a 3-year decrease in the average new customer age in South Korea and a 8-year decrease in Taiwan.