How The Ordinary created a twisted science lesson to expose beauty industry myths

The beauty industry is filled with myths disguised as science. To draw attention to the gulf between fact and fiction, The Ordinary partnered with Uncommon Creative Studio London to create The Periodic Fable™. The concept is based on the periodic table, except here, the usual chemical elements have been replaced with 49 skincare marketing buzzwords.

Those buzzwords are put under the microscope in the campaign film directed by Olivia De Camps. The film is set in a cold, futuristic classroom, where “students” bewitched under the beauty industry’s spell perform strange facial regimes and nonsense skincare hacks – although they’re all treatments available on the market. The film reflects how simply getting ready for the day has turned into “this mechanical, relentless but slightly absurd process,” says De Camps.

In an age of trend-led overconsumption, the campaign film and wider out-of-home, social and influencer activations all captured the need for transparency – a message delivered in eye-catching fashion. Hear from De Camps as well as Ellie and Elisa, the creative team who spearheaded the campaign, about how they constructed a surreal classroom environment and why they needed to work with scientists to get the message right.

See Behind the Work for more behind-the-scenes insight into award-winning D&AD work, including conversations with this year's Black Pencil winners on how they made some of the year's most talked-about work.