How beauty campaigns in India became inclusive, diverse and authentic

A closer look at how brands are breaking away from lip service to demonstrate real intent in making the beauty landscape welcoming for all

“The first time we showed the Fenty Beauty campaign trailer internally, a room full of business leaders, including myself, got very emotional,” reveals Sandy Saputo, chief marketing officer of Kendo Brands which plays host to pop star Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. In a market study by Think with Google, she added, “It was the first time underrepresented, underserved women and cultures were featured in a global prestige beauty campaign. We had to break and disrupt all the traditional marketing rules and carve a new path.”

To understand the true impact of Fenty Beauty’s radical approach to inclusivity, it is necessary to consider it against the larger backdrop of the beauty landscape. For decades, billboards and campaigns had been peddling an unattainable standard of what beauty should look like—skin that glowed with the luminosity of a thousand suns, voluminous hair that radiated with vitality and the perfect glossy smile, all tied together with an unfathomable lacquer of perfection, courtesy the nifty fingers of a Photoshop artist. Meanwhile, on home shores, fairness products promised to place everything from professional success to personal fulfilment within your reach if you chose the right skin-whitening cream. The point was driven unflinchingly home with arbitrary shade measurement cards affixed to the product packaging, bringing back unsavoury memories of the discriminatory brown paper bag test from the pages of history.

To say that the beauty industry was long overdue for an overhaul would be an understatement, and to assume that a convenient name change to ‘Glow and Lovely’ could dial back the clock on decades of colourism would be another one. We spoke to founders of beauty brands in India as well as industry insiders on the work they have been putting in to make the industry truly inclusive, and here’s what we learned.

Swapping perfection for authenticity

While overwriting decades’ worth of code on what beauty should look like might sound like a noble endeavour, Kewalramani acknowledges that the response has been bittersweet. “There has always been a group of people who feel seen, understood and spoken to in the way we included them in our narrative and content, but there was also a group of people who couldn’t swallow the pill that beauty could be represented in so many different ways. In our initial days, we got a lot of flak for showing a version of beauty that was a little too raw for the Indian consumer to digest [back then]. Over time, our consumers have understood what we are trying to do and we now get messages from people thanking us for showing the product on a particular skin type or tone, because they can understand what the product will look like on them,” she says.

Going beyond mere tokenism

While indie brands and new players might find it easier to experiment, mainstream names have conventionally shied away from anything that would rock the boat. However, this notion could soon be overturned with celebrity beauty brands, such as actor Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty, seeking to broaden their horizons for representation. In honour of the ongoing Pride Month, the brand has been spotlighting a bevy of faces from the LGBTQ community under the unifying message, ‘I love my pride but I am not defined by it.’ A spokesperson from Nykaa elaborates, “Since its inception, we have worked towards creating a product offering that acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of India—not just at the surface level, but as a core value demonstrated through every product and campaign by Kay Beauty. Throughout our journey, we have engaged in impactful conversations around diversity and inclusivity, championing self-expression for all. We demonstrate this value through every campaign that is consciously crafted to appeal to a wide audience, irrespective of their gender, age or skin tone.”

Deep Pathare, a digital content creator and skincare enthusiast, agrees that the conventional beauty space has been changing drastically. “This can be credited to the introduction of male beauty content creators, like myself and my contemporaries, as well as trans models and non-binaries. With the rise of queer content creators and the need to be politically correct in the media, the scales within the beauty industry have shifted to create a more balanced sphere of inclusion and acceptance,” he says.

However, Pathare cautions against the tokenism baked within surface-level inclusivity initiatives—specifically in the month of June which is celebrated as Pride Month. “Tokenism is still a significant part of how brands look at the queer community, especially in June. Pride has become a marketing gimmick for most brands to look more ‘woke’ to the consumers and cash in on rainbow money. That being said, indie brands and certain big names have been proving their dedication to the cause,” he raves. For Pathare, his radar for tokenism is defined by brands who choose to work with him even when it’s not June or an initiative related to the queer community. He adds, “With more representation in the mainstream media and more noise from the community against rainbow-washing and tokenism during Pride Month, the beauty industry might truly be able to imbibe inclusivity at its core.”

For Kewalramani, the main work needs to be done in breaking up with performative acts of inclusivity just because everybody else is doing it as well. “But why are we restricting our representation just to a campaign, what about our shade ranges or our price points? We have a long way to go, my brand included, in terms of identifying different skin tones and gender identities and portraying them in a raw sense. Ultimately, this is what authenticity comes down to,” she concludes.

Also Read: Is the beauty industry finally embracing age, not just ageing?

Also Read: Why aren’t there more curvy women in beauty campaigns?

Also Read: What does it mean to be a Gen Z beauty brand today?