How Uncommon turned beauty marketing jargon into a D&AD Black Pencil-winning parody

# What the campaign did

# Why the idea worked

The idea matched The Ordinary's brand position. The Ordinary is positioned around scientific clarity and straightforwardness, which made the periodic-table parody a natural fit. Instead of adding decorative visual effects to sell the gag, Uncommon applied minimalist, highly legible design so the words themselves carried the point.

A launch film, directed by Olivia De Camps and produced by Smuggler, amplified the idea. The film staged a classroom of hypnotised students repeating the table's elements while performing viral skincare rituals—an intentionally shocking image meant to make people notice the pattern of empty claims.

# Craft choices that mattered

• Simplicity over pseudo-science: designers resisted making the table look overtly "scientific" so the message wouldn't be lost in graphic complexity.
• System-first thinking: treating the buzzwords as a hosted system (a table of elements) allowed the campaign to isolate and call out individual terms in out-of-home and digital placements.
• Provocative but precise film direction: the spot focused on one or two repeatable shots meant to encourage sharing and discussion.

# Results and response

After launch the campaign drove clear metrics: an 11.8x increase in website traffic, over 80 pieces of press coverage and a 10.4% rise in purchase intent among American women. The mainstream beauty industry largely avoided direct engagement with the provocation.

The creative community recognised the work with a D&AD Black Pencil, one of advertising and design's top awards. Uncommon's co-founder Nils Leonard framed the work as a deliberate poke at category habits rather than an attack on people who work in beauty.

# What to watch if you want to adapt this approach

• Match creative device to brand truth. The periodic-table parody only works because The Ordinary's identity is already anchored in science and transparency.
• Use restraint to increase clarity. Design choices that "get out of the way" can strengthen a satirical message.
• Validate claims when you call out others. Uncommon worked with scientists to ensure each term they mocked had no regulated or scientific basis—this kept the provocation defensible.
• Plan rollout across formats. Isolating individual elements for out-of-home while showing the full table elsewhere extended reach without diluting the idea.

# Bottom line

The work succeeded because it combined precise craft, a systemised idea and a launch that created shareable, repeatable moments. It used a simple, credible provocation to make the industry-visible problem of meaningless beauty copy plain to consumers and the press, and it delivered measurable commercial lift alongside creative recognition.