Marketing Blog

 Beauty Meets Bravery: L'Oréal Paris Oscars Ad with Stuntwoman Samantha Win

Hi everyone! My name is Bhagyapreet Kaur. For our latest blog assignment, I choose a recent marketing campaign which interested me ,and the first one that sprang to mind was the L'Oréal Paris Oscars Ad featuring stuntwoman Samantha Win.

I’ve always loved how beauty brands market confidence and self-expression, but this particular ad was different it wasn’t just about looking flawless; it was about celebrating strength, individuality, and the real, unseen heroes of Hollywood.
Summary of the Article

The blog I was inspired from was Keitaro's, where they featured L'Oréal's Oscars commercial as one of the best March 2025 ads.

The three things that matter most from the campaign are:

Samantha Win, a stuntwoman, breaks through a rain-soaked glass window ,a high-impact action with no one touching her L'Oréal makeup.

The ad aired during the Oscars, which makes perfect sense. It not only aligns L’Oréal with Hollywood glamor but also acknowledges and celebrates the unsung heroes in the entertainment industry: stunt performers.

The underlying message is crystal clear: “You’re worth it” isn’t just about outer beauty, it’s about inner strength and resilience too.

L’Oréal’s Value Proposition
L’Oréal Paris’ long-standing value proposition is “Because You’re Worth It” — a commitment to delivering high-quality beauty products that empower women to feel confident, bold, and beautiful in their skin. Their focus on innovation, inclusivity, and celebrating individuality is what truly sets them apart.

What Makes This Campaign Marketing-Relevant?
This ad is a perfect example of strategic brand narrative and emotional marketing. L'Oréal is not just selling cosmetics, they're aligning the product with women's empowerment and cultural capital. It speaks to the current social conversations in society regarding diversity, visibility, and giving credit to unseen talent, especially women who work behind the scenes in men's work, like stunts.

This campaign also uses event marketing off events  releasing during the Oscars  to gain maximum exposure. The brand capitalizes on the audience's emotional affiliation with Hollywood and the film industry, which makes the message more memorable.

The Challenge
One of the largest challenges facing L'Oréal and beauty companies generally today is consumer trust. In an era where everything is filtered, airbrushed, and inordinately romanticized when it comes to beauty, consumers these days yearn for authenticity. L'Oréal nails it here by portraying a woman undertaking real, tangible, difficult labor, no flash red carpet required, just raw, gritty fare.
In the meantime, they're marketing in a crowded marketplace in which lots of companies claim to be empowering, but not as many backs it up as strongly with representation as L'Oréal has done here.

Campaign Highlights
Employing a stuntwoman instead of a standard actress or influencer.

Prevalence of high-action imagery in beauty marketing campaigns being low.
Accidental timing during the Oscars, reinforcing the message by association.

Tight alignment with the target buyer persona: modern women who love both beauty and toughness, and want products that can withstand pressure — literally!

Was It Effective?
Yes — and here's why:

It creates an emotional hook by giving credit to real, hardworking women.

The visual storytelling is powerful and memorable.

The product benefit (long-lasting makeup) is demonstrated, not explained.

It perfectly aligns with their brand identity and target market.

From a branding perspective, the ad successfully hits a number of KPIs: brand remembrance, emotional connection, and product credibility.

If I Were the Brand Manager….
If I were managing this campaign, I'd make it a social media series. Maybe do quick interviews or behind-the-scenes reels with other women stuntwomen, makeup artists, or costume designers. L'Oréal could even create a "Makeup in Motion" mini-campaign, inviting real women to show how L'Oréal products perform through their active lives —,whether they're mothers, athletes, dancers, or construction workers.

This would turn single-year Oscars ad a total 360-degree campaign with long-term staying power beyond the event itself.

What I Learned
I learned something valuable from this exercise. What goes on in marketing isn't merely pretty pictures and catchphrases, as you may think. It is about understanding the target audience, reaching their hearts, and communicating a message that aligns within your brand purpose. L'Oréal did just that in this campaign.