Nicola Formichetti, MAC Cosmetics’ global creative director, has debuted his first campaign for the brand.
Dubbed “I Only Wear MAC,” the campaign, lensed by Inez & Vinoodh, features black-and-white and color portraits of Doja Cat, Kris Jenner, Bach Buquen, Gabbriette, Amar Akway, Kiko Mizuhara, Devyn Garcia, Kristen McMenamy and Cortisa Star.
The effort, which highlights MAC’s Studio Flix Fluid SPF 15, saw both Jenner and Doja Cat’s assets last week tease the full release.
“For me, this is going back to the roots of MAC — it’s all stripped back,” Formichetti said. “It’s all ages, all races, all genders. This is relevant today. It was perfect to represent the most iconic product that we have, which is the foundation, and I wanted to strip it back to the ’90s DNA of MAC.”
To that end, the talent used were photographed nude, “and it’s this tongue-in-cheek way to say you only wear MAC,” he continued.
As for how he landed on this roster of faces, “I see MAC as a cultural brand,” he said. “We did all of this in black and white with Inez & Vinoodh to create iconic visuals that are both breathtaking and timeless. They could be from the ’90s, they could be from the future.”
Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois, MAC’s senior vice president and global general manager, said that while Studio Fix is getting the hero treatment with the campaign, the intent was to focus more on the brand than any specific segment.
“I think a lot of brands have understood that culture is a currency,” Moudachirou-Rébois said. “But we have to find a way to stay ahead and to keep surprising. We wanted a campaign that was bringing what MAC stands for back to the forefront, it was about individuality and community and feeling good and confident. The message is beyond our foundation.”
The black-and-white imagery will be the most widely disseminated, she continued, but assets in color will be released, too. “For super upper-funnel, it’s going to be black and white, because the message is about the brand,” Moudachirou-Rébois said. “As you’re moving down the funnel or you go to our website, the conversion assets, you’ll see some pictures in color.”
Those product attributes are also key to conversion. “Only MAC can offer 78 shades. 100 percent of the consumers can find their shades at MAC,” Moudachirou-Rébois said. “It’s a brand that is seeing everybody and giving everybody a platform. The formula now has 87 percent skin care ingredients, too.”
The campaign will be global with key out-of-home placements, as well as on social media. “It’s about creating moments of thoughtfulness, connection to and affinity for the brand. We will continue to measure how the brand is emotionally connecting with the consumer of all ages, especially younger ones.”
