Introduction: In March, prestige skincare brand SK-II unveiled the ‘Pitera & Me’ campaign, starring what it dubbed the next generation of Gen Z celebrity ambassadors. The tagline ‘Made for Gen-Z by Gen-Z’, reflects the foregoing of glossy commercials in favour of a raw and unscripted look at real-life Pitera experiences.
The campaign, which stars a roster of young ambassadors, is the brand’s first-ever self-directed film series.
In this exclusive interview, Global SK-II CEO Sue Kyung Lee discusses the real and authentic approach of ‘Pitera and Me’ and describes how the campaign represents the next creative chapter of SK-II’s Pitera story-telling.
“At SK-II, we are always looking for new and meaningful ways to tell the story of Pitera and the Pitera Essence through real, authentic stories of skin transformation.” The words of Global SK-II and Greater China Skin & Personal Care Senior Vice President Sue Kyung Lee encapsualte the key points of ‘Pitera and Me’, one of the most innovative and daring brand communication campaigns of recent times.
“Taking inspiration from the importance Gen-Z places on being authentic and real, both in the way that they present themselves online and type of social media and entertainment they consume, the Pitera and Me campaign featured the journeys of our four SK-II Gen Z ambassadors — Mina from K-pop group Twice, Zhang Zi Feng, Dou Jing Tong and Ayaka Miyoshi — as they went on a self-care break with SK-II,” explains Lee.
“They tried the Pitera Essence and filmed their own experiences, unscripted and self-directed, very much like how they would on their own social channels.”
The series delivers a raw and unfiltered look at the ambassadors as they reconnect with their hobbies and look back on their first experience with SK-II Pitera Essence. It also highlights Pitera’s pop-culture journey through the years and SK-II’s willingness to break the mould of traditional marketing strategies.
Unlike traditional beauty campaigns, Pitera and Me creates an intimate link between the ambassadors and Pitera, SK-II’s hero line. The same personalisation can be seen in previous SK-II marketing campaigns such as the My Pitera Story and Face the Wild Face the Camera. According to Lee, this personalisation is fundamental to SK-II’s brand marketing ethos.
“All our brand ambassadors, including our Gen-Z brand ambassadors, are real passionate users of SK-II Pitera. They are the living proof of our brand’s promise – crystal clear skin through their authentic skin transformation – and they embody our brand purpose of Change Destiny.
“We are always pushing the boundaries of how we can share the story of Pitera and Pitera Essence through real, intimate, authentic stories of skin transformation to our consumers,” Lee continues.
“In some campaigns, we do this via real-life Pitera torture-test situations, or what we call Pitera stunts of superiority like Face the Wild Face the Camera. In other campaigns like My Pitera Story and Pitera and Me, we do this via intimate and personal documentaries of our brand ambassadors’ experiences with Pitera.
SK-II has never shied away from disruptive, thought-provoking campaigns. To bolster that philosophy, in March 2021 the company unveiled SK-II Studio, its first film studio division and content hub.
The concept was inspired by SK-II’s purpose #CHANGEDESTINY as the world began to emerge from the unprecedented turmoil of the global pandemic. Its pioneering social retail pop-up store with China Duty Free Group [the subject of a compelling Moodie Davitt Spotlight Series eZine] turned the line into the ride, while the SK-II Studio ‘VS’ animated films explored the different social challenges and pressures faced by women today.
Pitera and Me represents a new chapter in SK-II’s creative journey as the prestige skincare brand seeks to recruit a new generation of consumers, the Gen-Z.
Asked about the campaign’s journey from inspiration to execution, Lee replies: “From our starting point of the concept of self-directed, unscripted films, we did a deep dive into the mindset and trends of Gen-Z consumers to understand what influences them and makes them tick.
“Taking inspiration from the importance Gen-Z places on being authentic and real – both in the way that they present themselves online and type of social media and entertainment they consume – we had our four Gen-Z SK-II ambassadors go on a self-care break with SK-II and try Pitera Essence and share their experiences. Everything was unscripted – very much like how they would on their own social channels.
“We incorporated the concept of ‘self-care’, which is a topic of interest among Gen-Z that was particularly elevated during the pandemic,” she adds.
“We know taking a moment for self-care to recharge, relax and refresh is important, and we married this with our brand ambassadors who were experiencing Pitera Essence for the very first time as the main theme of the Pitera and Me films.
“The concept of having our brand ambassadors film their own self-care break in a vacation house was partly inspired by reality shows like Terrace House that are popular among young viewers today. The concept was also influenced by the type of content that Gen-Z posts on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Douyin.”
Offering a final view on why she believes the Pitera & Me campaign resonates with Gen-Z consumers, Lee says: “Made for Gen-Z, for the Gen-Z, the films were self-directed, real, unscripted, and raw. No gimmicks, just Pitera & Me.”
“From our starting point of the concept of self-directed, unscripted films, we did a deep dive into the mindset and trends of Gen-Z consumers to understand what influences them and makes them tick.
“Authenticity is always at the heart of what we do. We know our consumers, especially Gen-Z consumers, resonate deeply with this as well.”
