Call me black, that’s my colour

Me chame de preta, me chame de negra. Essa é minha cor. is the bold new campaign from Avon Brazil to celebrate the launch of new Power Stay 24-hour Foundation and face make-up products line-up. Recognising the nuances of Brazillian skin tones, ‘preta’ and ‘negra’ are words used to describe people with black skin in Brazil and the campaign narrative intentionally draws on their power to shine a light on the country’s diversity.

In a market where 55% of women self-declare themselves as brown or black, Avon Brazil took on the challenge of mapping and studying the country’s skin tone diversity in depth. The insight came to life during an immersive workshop with make-up artists, influencers and product development experts and the output was a complete rebuild of the make-up portfolio based on the needs of black Brazilian women. Not only were seven new shades of foundation, concealer and powder added for black skin but the whole shopping experience was redesigned to help customers find their best shade match and beauty advisors to offer tailored and personal advice.

Avon Brazil teamed up with Larissa Luz, a Brazilian artist, actor, singer and producer to create a song that speaks to black women about finding a place in the world, as a parallel to finding the perfect shade of foundation. The song and a strong product advertising campaign proudly shared ‘call me black, that’s my colour’ with the whole country and was well-received on social media with consumers citing that it had the power to build young girls’ self-esteem. It even caught the attention of other big beauty brands who stated on social media that we’re all in this movement together.

The commitment to inclusivity goes far beyond changes to products, advertising and store experience. In May 2020 Avon Brazil declared its antiracism attitude to be developed into a structured action plan throughout the company. And in November, Avon shared its anti-racist commitment with external audiences. The seven-part programme includes commitments to: increase representation of black women in leadership roles, increase product diversity and ensure representation in brand communications, increase numbers of black people in entry-level roles to better reflect the population in Brazil and deploy racial literacy training for all associates.

Danielle Bibas Vice President Marketing, Avon Brazil said: “We are incredibly proud of all of this work. It starts from within – first you need to be, then you need to do, and then you earn the right to talk about it. That’s why our approach is 360. We’re not just introducing a few new shades, we’re making commitments throughout our business and truly working to understand the needs of our Brazilian consumers. This isn’t just an important business strategy, it’s the right thing to do and that’s why the whole Avon Brazil family has embraced it so strongly. We have lots more to come so watch this space!”