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Olay Will No Longer Retouch Models' Complexions in Its Skin Care Ads

Photoshop in advertising is no secret—as is the result it’s had on the way we see ourselves. It’s something the beauty industry has reckoned with over the past few years as women demand to see more realistic imagery in the world around us. And now Olay is delivering: The brand just announced it’s officially committed to “zero skin retouching” in all of its advertising materials, including content created by Olay’s influencer partners.

Olay admits in a statement that women face outrageous, and often conflicting, expectations about their appearance from the beauty industry and society as a whole. “In the U.S., 40% of women surveyed by Mintel said they felt beauty advertisements impart an unrealistic expectation, making it unclear what was actually achievable,” the statement reads.

So Olay is making a big change. Starting with a campaign led by actress Busy Philipps, model Denise Bidot, and comedian Lilly Singh, the company’s advertisements will be paired with an “Olay Skin Promise” logo, assuring buyers that the ad was completely untouched. Beyond the initial launch, you can expect to see the logo on all the brand’s imagery across print, digital, and TV by 2021. If this all sounds familiar, Olay is partnering with CVS, who launched its own campaign against excessive Photoshop in beauty ads in 2018.

Courtesy of Olay

Philipps, for one, is thrilled to be a part of this particular body-positive movement. “For Olay to take this stand and say, ‘We’re about skin care, we’re about having you feel your best and having you feel like your most confident self’, it’s a really big deal,” she said in a statement. “The more huge companies like Olay that can stand up, the better everyone’s going to be. You want to see yourself reflected. You don’t want to see something that’s completely unattainable because that’s not real.”

Philipps went on to tell Allure about her own experiences being altered in photoshoots. “My moles are such defining characteristics of my skin—it’s who I am,” she said. “So to have that message sent to me in the beginning of my career caused a lot of self-doubt.”

Busy Philipps and Olay skincare — Courtesy of Olay

It’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Olay is far from the only beauty and lifestyle brand taking the leap into unretouched advertisements. Aerie just announced its latest group of #AerieREAL Role Models with an unretouched photoshoot, for example. But the world of Instagram influencers is still a mostly unregulated land of perceived perfection and Facetune. Hopefully, this is just one of many steps in changing toxic messaging online.

“I think people are so conditioned to see a ‘perfect’ face staring back at them on Instagram,” Philipps said. “And the more those [types of retouched] images get out there, the more it reinforces a normal that is not normal.”

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Aerie's Three Newest 'Role Models' Are Also Our Role Models

Aerie, the American Eagle Outfitters-run loungewear line that’s committed to celebrating all bodies through airbrush-free campaigns and an inspiring crew of spokespeople, is growing its family of “Role Models”. The brand announced that three very, very cool women will be joining model Iskra Lawrence as ambassadors: U.S. Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman, grown-ish actress and activist Yara Shahidi, and singer Rachel Platten.

Their careers—gymnastics, television, and music—may be different, but Raisman, Shahidi, and Platten are all major game-changers in their fields. And across the board, these women have used their platforms to advocate for themselves and others, whether it’s in the form of an empowering anthem or a searing testimony in court. In a statement, Aerie explained that it picked this trio, specifically, to appear in its Spring 2018 campaign because of “their influential voices, unique stories, and self-made success.”

PHOTO: © Ali Mitton

Jennifer Foyle, Aerie’s Global Brand President, said: “Yara, Aly, Rachel, and Iskra truly embody AerieREAL and what it means to be strong, confident, and happy in your own skin… Now, more than ever, we want to encourage women everywhere to feel empowered to embrace their own unique qualities and beautiful REAL selves.”

PHOTO: © Ali Mitton

As “Role Models”, Raisman, Shahidi and Platten will appear in the brand’s intimates, swim, and apparel campaigns throughout the year. With their combined achievements, the trio fit into the narrative of body positivity Aerie has been promoting for years, through its efforts to introduce more inclusive product, steer clear of Photoshop, and cast a range of women who don’t necessarily fit into the traditional “model” mold to appear in its ads.

PHOTO: © Ali Mitton

You may remember that Raisman’s partnership with Aerie was first revealed back in November at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit. But the news of her being a part of a new class of “Role Models” also comes with another very special announcement: Raisman, Shahidi, and Platten will be designing some items you can expect to see in Aerie stores this spring.

Beginning in March, exclusive products dreamed up by the Role Models will drop at Aerie, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting a charity of their choice. There’s no word yet on which causes proceeds will head towards, but Shahidi gives us a hunch that these special items will support initiatives we can get behind: “I love supporting causes and movements that help perpetuate this idea of people rising together,” she said.

Aerie’s “Role Models” really started with Lawrence, and the model is psyched to see more young women see themselves represented in Aerie’s campaigns with the new additions to the crew. “I couldn’t be more excited for the #AerieREAL Role Model community to grow because we need voices,” she said. “We need diversity. I want every girl to feel like she has someone to look up to.”

The campaign and collaboration are just the beginning for these “Role Models”: You can also expect to see Platten, Raisman, and Shahidi make appearances at Aerie stores across the country this next year as part of a “Real Talk” speaking series, where they’ll discuss topics from body positivity to women’s empowerment, adding even more layers to (and ways to experience) the #AerieREAL movement.

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