Pucker up for Tarte Cosmetics campaign

Makeup brands tend to advertise to women  by promising to enhance them, make them stand out, or polish them into a better version of themselves. None of these angles are necessarily degrading or false, but they focus directly on what makeup can do for you. They tend to be empowering, but the main focus is also physical beauty the majority of the time. This makes sense, hence the product. However, Tarte Cosmetics has used makeup as a medium to raise cyber bully awareness.

The hashtag #KissandMakeup accompanied with a selfie of a girl that has a lipstick kiss stamped on her hand is Tarte’s creation. It celebrates acceptance and forgiveness as it intertwines the idea of makeup into the mix. The company noticed numerous negative comments on Tarte’s Instagram, and related that to negative comments that girl’s receive on selfies. So, the brand decided to use their product to vocalize cyber bullying.

The innovative campaign benefits both their product image along with brand image. Followers immediately see lipstick marks on the selfies, along with the word “Kiss”; therefore, they are thinking of a piece of the product line. Secondly, the Tarte brand positions itself as a company that is more concerned with what girls do with their looks and confidence in order to forgive, accept, and encourage others. In addition, the campaign itself condemns any form of cyberbullying.

Instead of focusing on what Tarte’s makeup can do to make girls more physically attractive, the brand focuses on what girls need to do to make their inner personality glow. This stands out in the makeup advertising world, and falls under the same category as the Real Beauty campaigns. Tarte Cosmetics is stirring the pot in the makeup world, and making sure there is plenty of sugar.