The Vegans Are Right
Welcome to my open tabs. The weekly stack of my browsing history, some clever (outrage) marketing along with a TikTok that's keeping me sane. Weird times.
Stunt marketing is nothing new. But political stunt marketing in the beauty space? Rare.
Beauty brands, aside from the brief moment of black squares in 2020, have largely avoided political conversations. So it was a surprise to see The Ordinary, a Canadian company owned by Estée Lauder (a parent company with a less-than-progressive track record), take a jab at American economic policy by spotlighting the exorbitant cost of groceries in a city where food insecurity is a growing crisis.
I loved it. The vegans, on the other hand? Mixed feelings.
You see, The Ordinary has long prided itself on being vegan and cruelty-free, proudly displaying its Leaping Bunny certification across its website. For some, the visual of what looked like 50–100 cartons of eggs being used in the stunt felt off-brand. As one commenter on my reaction video pointed out, “They could’ve done the same thing—but with beans.”
While beans lack the current cultural relevance of expensive eggs, my hope is that The Ordinary follows up with a larger message that helps balance out the decidedly un-vegan (and limited scope of help for food security) nature of the stunt. When it comes to animal welfare and the environment, the vegans are right. At the same time, the current state of American affairs is creating immense cruelty and suffering for both humans and animals. Razing forests for agriculture isn’t exactly kind to nature—or its inhabitants.
Like most things, multiple truths can coexist. And in a time when brands are competing in an increasingly crowded attention economy, it’s impressive to see one cut through the noise with a message that’s bold, thought-provoking, and rooted in its core mission: accessibility should be universal. Now, were they providing eggs to the most vulnerable New Yorkers? Not from what I could tell. Was it vegan? No, this can alienate some of their customer base. And while stunt marketing’s goal is for a viral hit, it’s a little bit more than just views. Not many brands are making economic isolation commentaries while speaking to accessibility.
Considering media is under attack, any brand critiquing the current administration isn’t immune from repercussions. So, kudos, they did make a statement that wasn’t purely about a new product drop. More kudos if a larger partnership with an organization like City Harvest is on the way. Or, one of the many vegan egg companies that exist.
Generally speaking, talking about your values is easy. We’re going to see which brands stand by them when they have something to lose.
Now, here are some of my favorite saved posts, thoughts, podcasts, and anti-doom-spiral reads of the week.
Despite certain corners of the internet’s conviction that pharmaceutical ads are now banned from television thanks to RFK, turns out that isn’t true. He’s “reportedly planning” to do it, but, unlikely to hold up in court (I think we still have those).
Loved this piece on Polyester Zine on “Why Women Are Drawn To Work Culture Television,” particularly when you juxtapose it with Evie Magazine. LMK if you want to know my thoughts. Having worked at Cosmopolitan, I have many. Starting with, you can’t make Cosmopolitan magazine conservative, it’s just Ladies Home Journal. Giving 1885.
Is the blush bubble upon us? While I’m less hand-wringy about “beauty bubbles” I’d be remiss to say that the sheer number of color cosmetic launches are… a thing to behold. We’ve seen powder extensions from Rare & Tower28, more shades drop from Violette_FR and Rhode and even traditional skincare brands, that have been in business for years are launching active ingredient-blush-hybrids. I’m not in the business of fortune-telling, but I don’t think we’re quite in a bubble. I compare our obsession with lip products & blushes & color to 2015 when we were at peak contour. By 2018, the bubble had burst and Urban Decay was selling their once viral palettes at massive discounts. The main difference I’m seeing? Very accessible pricing ($54 in that economy? For 30 eye shadows??), treating color like fashion (a blush and lippie for every outfit), and smart packaging of single color SKUs versus the prison of palettes. Time will tell. I will say SZA launching a makeup line was not on the bingo card.
If Books Could Kill Still one of my favorite podcasts. I deeply appreciate someone doing the labor of reading all the books I’d otherwise hate-read.
This week’s episode covered Of Boys and Men—a book often praised for its “research,” which, as it turns out, is pretty thin. While I don’t think the boys are alright (is anyone right now?), Peter and Michael make an important point:
What happens when we assign moral equivalency to someone advocating for women’s or trans rights, and someone else—often a wildly popular “boy” creator—who actively calls for harm? When the message becomes: the only way to “regain” your rights is by trampling someone else’s? I don’t recommend watching Adolescent after listening to this episode.
On being moderately intelligent: This TikTok made me feel a little less alone. There’s strength in numbers, and baby, being moderately intelligent with a mild interest in humanity? Feels like living in a rerun.
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Beauty Savior Of The Week: I finally got my shipments from Stylevana, Yes Style and Olive Young. If you’re part of the KBeauty contingent, for now, we can still get our international sunscreens from these sites. Stylevana had the slowest shipping time but after 3 months, she’s arrived. If you’re curious as to my favorites, they’re listed here [affiliate].
Would love to hear your thoughts on work culture television, Evie magazine, and the "trad wife" cultural movement, to the extent that you think there really is one. Love your work, I hope the Substacks keep coming!
I love if books could kill!