Grupo Boticário: Research My Body
Grupo Boticário challenged GUT São Paulo to evolve the brand beyond traditional beauty standards for International Women's Day. They needed to address the systemic gender health gap affecting their primary audience. The goal was to move from storytelling to storydoing by launching a significant institutional initiative that prioritized women's internal health over external appearance, positioning the brand as a serious advocate for female well-being.
Creative Idea
Replaced sexualized search results of famous actresses with X-rays to demand medical research funding.
Grupo Boticário highlighted the gender health gap by replacing sexualized search results of famous women with X-rays of their internal organs, turning superficial scrutiny into a R$ 13 million commitment to fund essential female-focused medical research.
Turning Sexualized Search Results Into Scientific Data
Hijacking the digital gaze
The campaign strategy centered on a "search engine hack" designed to confront the hyper-sexualization of women online. When users searched for aesthetic or sexualized terms related to female bodies, the algorithm was leveraged to serve content highlighting the lack of scientific data on those same body parts. This "storydoing" approach culminated in the launch of the Women’s Research Center, a dedicated hub funded by Grupo Boticário to finance studies on female physiology. The initiative was backed by a R$ 13 million commitment, shifting the brand from aesthetic marketing to scientific advocacy.
Prime time for a trillion dollar gap
Record breaking retention and reach
The movement became the largest in the brand’s history, surpassing 30 million views across social platforms. Beyond the sheer scale, the content achieved the best retention record in the history of the brand’s digital presence. While the campaign utilized a network of influencers to amplify the #PesquiseMeuCorpo hashtag, the production focused on authentic representation, featuring women across diverse life stages - including menopause and pregnancy - to illustrate how the research gap persists throughout a woman's entire life.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A leading beauty conglomerate with the scale to fund significant institutional change and scientific research.
Category
Beauty brands typically focus on external aesthetics and superficial perfection to drive product sales.
Customer
Women feel their health concerns are dismissed or misunderstood by a male-centric medical establishment.
Culture
Growing awareness of the gender health gap and the demand for brands to take tangible social action.
Company
A leading beauty conglomerate with the scale to fund significant institutional change and scientific research.
Category
Beauty brands typically focus on external aesthetics and superficial perfection to drive product sales.
Strategy:
Pivot from aesthetic scrutiny to scientific advocacy to bridge the gap between visibility and understanding.
Customer
Women feel their health concerns are dismissed or misunderstood by a male-centric medical establishment.
Culture
Growing awareness of the gender health gap and the demand for brands to take tangible social action.
Strategy:
Pivot from aesthetic scrutiny to scientific advocacy to bridge the gap between visibility and understanding.
Results
The campaign achieved significant impact, including 5 million organic interactions and 650 million impressions. It generated $2.5 million in earned media and saw a +3913% increase in comments and a +1530% increase in shares compared to previous campaigns. It became the most shared content in the brand's history, with 5 million views, 830k likes, 232k comments, and 65k shares. Most importantly, Grupo Boticário allocated R$ 13 million for research on women's bodies in partnership with a hospital, marking a first for a beauty brand in Brazil.
650M
impressions
R$ 13M
allocated for research
+3913%
increase in comments
Strategy Technique
Attack a Cultural Blind Spot
It challenged the normalization of women's bodies as aesthetic objects while exposing the systemic lack of medical data. This pivot from beauty to science addressed a critical societal oversight.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Exhibit the Truth
By displaying internal X-rays of highly searched actresses, the campaign visually exposed the disparity between societal objectification and scientific neglect. It forced viewers to see women as biological subjects requiring research.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's craft is exceptional in its use of provocative visual metaphors and strategic media placement to turn a negative social trend into a positive health movement.
The visual juxtaposition of celebrity beauty with internal X-ray imagery is a powerful and memorable creative execution.
The campaign strategically used International Women's Day and high-profile actresses to maximize reach and spark a national conversation.
The central hook—'The most searched body shouldn't be the least researched one'—is a brilliant and concise articulation of the problem.
The studio shots of the actresses are beautifully lit and framed, lending a sense of dignity and gravitas to the campaign.
The synergy between the provocative art direction and the strong copywriting creates a clear, impactful message that resonates across all media platforms.
