Continuing to challenge discriminatory tropes in the Global Beauty & Personal Care Industry, heritage, South Asian hair care brand, Vatika UK, has launched its next, visionary campaign that celebrates positive body image and the visible differences among us. The inspiring #BeVisible campaign promotes diversity and inclusion in the Beauty & Personal Care Industry by telling the stories of six, formidable women who identify as having a visible, physical difference.
Nearly one in five people in the UK self-identify as having a visible difference, yet South Asian brands barely reflect and represent people that look different or are disfigured in some way – continuing to circulate archaic and regressive notions of what is deemed ‘beautiful’. Visible differences can be described as a scar, mark or condition on the face or body that makes an individual look different such as vitiligo, alopecia or other noticeable skin diseases or impairments. It can be difficult to maintain self-worth and significance in a world where standards of beauty and physical appearance are largely exclusive and unidentifiable to the individual.
According to research, over 50 percent of people with visible differences feel they are regularly ignored by brands; two out of three people do not think visible differences are represented well in adverts; and one in five will avoid photos with family and friends because of the way they look. Personal networks, celebrities and social media are the three biggest influences that impact the way people feel about their appearance. Consistently bothered by the personal care & beauty industry and wider representation, people strongly feel there is a greater need for more actors with visible differences to play positive and central characters rather than being portrayed as victims or villains. Recognising this, Vatika UK continues to pave the way for positive change and representation.
#BeVisible marks the next chapter to follow the brand’s award-winning and visionary #StrongerRoots campaign, which signified a game-changing moment in the lucrative South Asian personal care industry by celebrating real and authentic women and individuals through the challenges they have overcome. Deconstructing insurmountable ‘values’ that the personal care & beauty industry has historically prescribed and perpetuated, Vatika UK’s #BeVisible campaign now sets an entirely new benchmark in beauty promotion and imaging by advocating stronger representation of people with visible differences through the personal accounts of six, remarkable women of substance.
The ground-breaking campaign has come to fruition by galvanising the conceptual talents of award-winning, brand marketing agency, Ethnic Reach; direction by British Asian actor and director Ameet Chana and Vikrant Chopra; and music score by recording artist, Rishi Rich. With powerful images by photography duo, Amit & Naroop.
