Global prestige beauty brand SK-II today revealed its latest SK-II STUDIO instalment, ‘VS’, a ground-breaking animated anthology series starring female Olympic athletes which aims to inspire women to #ChangeDestiny.
It has been launched simultaneously with the debut of an immersive ‘social retail’ pop-up store in partnership with China Duty Free Group at the CDF Mall in the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex, Haitang Bay and the same retailer’s downtown store in Haikou (look out for our exclusive report coming soon).
The brand has also unveiled SK-II City, a virtual city inspired by the streets of Tokyo, where visitors can watch all six episodes of ‘VS’, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
[Click on the YouTube icon above to catch a sneak peek of the ‘VS’ Series]
The ‘VS’ Series merges animation, live action and story-telling with purpose. The films are based on the real-life experiences of six inspiring female Olympic athletes. They star 25 World Medal-winning Olympic gymnast Simone Biles from the US; decorated Chinese swimmer Liu Xiang; double Olympic medal-winning table tennis athlete Ishikawa Kasumi; Olympic gold medal-winning badminton duo Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo; celebrated Hawaiian surfer Mahina Maeda; and the Japanese volleyball team Hinotori Nippon.
Each film in the ‘VS’ Series tackles different forms of societal pressures that women experience. These include internet trolls, pressure, image obsession, rules, limitations and machine-like mindsets. Those pressures are brought to life in the form of a ‘strange beast’ or ‘kaiju’ in Japanese. Each kaiju sheds light on the inner demon each athlete must defeat to pursue their destiny.
The Moodie Davitt Report is publishing all the films this week. We begin today with ‘VS Obsession’, featuring world record-holding Chinese swimmer Liu Xiang.
In this beautiful and powerful film, an animated version of Liu Xiang dives into the metaphorical seas of the image-obsessed, where she must race against the speed of the internet to show the world who she truly is. As she swims, she is surrounded by social media posts. “Go, go Goddess!” says one. “Why be an athlete when you can rely on your looks?” asks another. “Beauty is her strength,” says a third.
As she is overwhelmed with social media hype, Liu clicks onto a story listing China’s top ten athletes. Her name is missing. “I’m not on the list,” she says. “This is the conversation that I want to be part of. I want to be seen as an athlete!” Click on the YouTube icon below to see what happens next.
The animated anthology follows the release of SK-II STUDIO’s acclaimed debut film ‘The Center Lane’. The film, which embraces the strength of the human spirit to rise above adversity in unprecedented times, tells the destiny-changing story of Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee’s return to competitive sport after being diagnosed with leukemia in February 2019.
Her illness came just months after she became the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single Asian Games during the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Rikako Ikee has since qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
With the ‘VS’ Series, the global skincare brand once again demonstrates through SK-II STUDIO its commitment to the #CHANGEDESTINY purpose, merging entertainment with a deeply inspiring message for women everywhere. Its mission? To showcase again that purpose-led story telling can be done in a totally unexpected way.
SK-II did not stop simply at showing women how far they can go, but is actively helping them on their journeys to change destiny. Along with the SK-II STUDIO films, they are launching a #CHANGEDESTINY fund which will contribute US$1 up to US$500,000 for every SK-II STUDIO film viewing. As part of the brand’s purpose, the fund is designed to support women in pursuing their destiny to create positive change by seeking out their destinies. Participating organisations will be announced at a later date
“#CHANGEDESTINY is at the heart of our brand purpose at SK-II,” said Global SK-II Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Seth. “For years, we have celebrated how destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice through the stories of courageous women around the world. This year, we want to further and strengthen our commitment towards our brand purpose.
“We know from our conversations with our consumers that there are much bigger issues than skin and beauty that they are concerned about. We also know that from the pandemic and coming out of it, consumers have a higher expectation towards brands and businesses.
“We also know that from the pandemic and coming out of it, consumers have a higher expectation towards brands and businesses. With the release of the SK-II STUDIO films, we a celebrating a moment in SK-II’s #CHANGEDESTINY history. We hope these films can give women worldwide the courage to take destiny in their own hands and be a starting point for us—brands and businesses—to come together and act as a force for good and growth to create positive and meaningful change.”
“With the release of the SK-II STUDIO films, we are celebrating a moment in SK-II’s #CHANGEDESTINY history,” Seth added. “We hope these films can give women worldwide the courage to take destiny in their own hands and be a starting point for us—brands and businesses—to come together and act as a force for good and growth to create positive and meaningful change.”
ABOUT #CHANGEDESTINY
#CHANGEDESTINY is at the heart of the SK-II brand philosophy, one that celebrates how destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.
Inspired by the stories of women from around the world, #CHANGEDESTINY sheds light on the pressures they face and the universal ‘box’ they are put in to be perfect in society’s eyes.
Award-winning #CHANGEDESTINY campaigns include 2016’s ‘Marriage Market Takeover’ that put a spotlight on the labels of ‘Sheng Nu’ or ‘Leftover Women’ in China; 2017’s ‘The Expiry Date’’; 2018’s ‘Meet Me Halfway’; and 2019’s ‘Timelines’ – a docu-series in partnership with renowned journalist Katie Couric about the evolving and controversial topic of marriage pressure and societal expectations women face globally.
To find out more about the ‘VS’ Series and learn about SK-II STUDIO and #ChangeDestiny, please visit the virtual SK-II CITY at https://city.sk-ii.com/.
ABOUT SK-II STUDIO
SK-II STUDIO is dedicated to tackling social pressures impacting women today through the power of film and storytelling. The concept was inspired by SK-II’s #CHANGEDESTINY mantra as the world re-emerges from unprecedented times caused by the global pandemic.
The project brings together world-renowned film makers, animators, musicians and content creators with the passion to inspire positive change. SK-II plans to direct more of its brand content towards driving conversations with a bigger purpose around social pressures impacting women.
