Kiehl’s launches intimate-care collection and campaign featuring Ilana Glazer to appeal to Gen Z
To mark the launch of its foray into personal and intimate care, L’Oréal-owned Kiehl’s tapped actor-comedian and “Broad City” star Ilana Glazer for a 360-degree campaign dubbed “Pubic Service Announcement.” The campaign promotes the launch of two products under its new Kiehl’s Personals collection: Ingrown Hair & Tone Corrective Intimate Drops and Over & Under Cream Powder Deodorant.
The collection was inspired by internally conducted market research, through which Kiehl’s discovered that 66% of female-identifying and 47% of male-identifying Gen-Z consumers in the U.S. remove body hair, which can lead to issues like ingrown hairs, bumps and uneven skin tone in intimate areas. Kiehl’s new Intimate Drops seeks to address these concerns.
The $39 serum uses a gentle blend of AHAs, astaxanthin and jojoba oil, which work together to even skin tone and strengthen the skin barrier. The $28 deodorant, which can be used anywhere on the body, including under the arms, features a blend of acids to neutralize body odor. The new launches will become available for purchase on August 1 at Ulta Beauty, TikTok Shop and Kiehl’s own site, with other retailers stocking them later on.
Of the entry into this category, Kiehl’s global brand president Jon Saenz said, “The intimate care category is reaching new heights – currently estimated to reach $45B globally by 2029. Part of the reason is that Gen Z is coming of age and breaking taboos as the most gender-fluid generation. Although interest in intimate care is rising, there’s a lack of scientific validation and few clinically tested formulas with appealing aesthetics. Kiehl’s is already known for skin- and hair-care formulas that combine proven efficacy and safety with an unexpected dopamine-boosting sensory experience. Now, we also want to be part of the conversation that helps normalize intimate care and sexual wellness.”
The campaign is launching in tandem with the new products and will hit the ground running with a hero film. It was conceived of by creative agency, WPP Onefluence, led by Ogilvy PR. The hero film, “Who Wants to Be a Million-Hair?” features Glazer (1.4 million Instagram followers; 339,000 TikTok followers) and waxing influencer Chloe Franklin (@chlodein; 644,000 TikTok followrs). The film will be shared across the brand’s social channels, and in collaboration posts with Glazer and Franklin; the brand will put paid behind it on social, too.
In the spot, Glazer plays a contestant in a cheeky, ’60s-styled game show on which she answers trivia questions. If she answers incorrectly, a man on a table nearby, Gerry, gets waxed. After answering a number of questions incorrectly, Glazer makes a passionate plea to the audience set to moving music, “In our culture, we stigmatize body hair. But no matter what, everybody gets ingrowns and everybody sweats. That’s why we’re here today on behalf of Kiehl’s Ingrown Hair & Tone Corrective Intimate Drops and Kiehl’s new Over & Under Cream Powder Deodorant. That’s my Pubic Service Announcement.”
The two-and-a-half-minute film is just the first part of a social media blitz, said Christine Cotter, head of social at Ogilvy PR. Glazer and Franklin will post the content to their Instagram feeds. There will be content that is product-specific and educational in addition to the humorous tone of the film. The brand is working with “gynecologist influencers, waxing professionals, people who work in salons, dermatologists and sex therapists [all categories of people who should be aware of these products],” she said. Other content will, again, take a cheekier tone. “We have some content that, in your face boldly says, ‘Swamp Ass: Everybody has it.’”
Ogilvy PR was looking to work with someone who is funny but open and honest, and Glazer instantly fit the bill, said Cotter. “She improvised a lot on set, which was something else that we were really looking for, too.” The agency also sought someone who would resonate with Gen Z. “She has a substantial amount of Gen-Z followers,” Cotter told Glossy.
“Gen Z, who is the main target of this new product line, is so open about everything in their life. They talk to people about everything. They are a very fluid generation, they don’t want to be kept in boxes, and they want to be able to be their authentic selves. But despite all that, when it comes to issues, like your pubic health or being a little stinky after the gym, they’re still a little shy about talking about that,” Cotter said.
Tension, she noted, is often where campaign concepts come from — and this one was no different. The generation’s shyness, she said, “produced this interesting tension for us. ‘When nothing is supposedly off-limits for this generation, why are they still so shy about these intimate moments?’” Cotter said of the idea for the campaign.
Gen Z is top of mind for the 173-year-old brand at the moment. “Gen Z is a generation that, in the last few years, a lot of brands have been going after to future-proof themselves, and we understand that,” said Steven Waldberg, Kiehl’s svp of global brand engagement and communications. “What Kiehl’s needed to do, from a product offering perspective, was innovate and create products that speak to [Gen Z] and their needs, which is why we launched into acne recently, and that’s been a big success.”
Furthermore, he said, when catering to Gen Z, who are currently somewhere between 12 and 27 in 2024, it’s also about values. “What are the values that we as a brand uphold that are values that they share? We’re very much a community brand. … We just launched Kiehl’s Open Doors, [a program] in support of LGBTQIA+ homeless youth,” he said, speaking to the ways the brand’s values might resonate with the demographic.
Though Kiehl’s declined to comment on its revenue, it is part of L’Oréal’s luxe division, which grew 1.8% like-for-like and +2.2% reported, according to its Q1 report on 2024 sales.
