Benefit in Hot Water Over UK ‘Skip Class’ Messaging

Benefit Cosmetics is reaping no benefits from its latest campaign in the UK, which some see as undermining the importance of education for girls.

Cause we need to teach girls that looks are far more important than an education. Thanks @BenefitUK @EverydaySexism pic.twitter.com/Bcg0yyGZ11

— Megan India (@megind6) June 23, 2017

Angry customers claimed the display at Debenhams store beauty counters was “poisoning young minds” and spreading an “irresponsible message.” The poster in question depicts a young woman in bed holding an alarm clock, books piled up and the copy: “Skip class, not concealer.”

Beauty brand Benefit UK is under fire for an ad instructing women to “skip class, not concealer” pic.twitter.com/NTIt1E7tbt

— Traynesha Cole (@TrayneshaCole) July 5, 2017

The message: Beauty is more important than education; and it’s OK to skip school, especially if your looks aren’t up to snuff.

Skip class… not #concealer @BenefitUK here in @Debenhams @KingsgateCentre pic.twitter.com/jZSvEB3VX5

— Kingsgate Centre (@KingsgateCentre) June 21, 2017

Data scientist Hayley Fenton said of the campaign, “I was just appalled by it to be honest. You know when you look twice at something because you can’t believe it? I wasn’t expecting to see something like that. It sends a negative message about looks being so important, even more than turning for school.”

Oh @BenefitUK, are you really encouraging girls that looking good is more important than an education? "Skip class not concealer" #adfail pic.twitter.com/weTls4nFlc

— Nat Skywalker (@natskywalkr) July 4, 2017

Josh Key, from Perth, Scotland, added, “I feel that we consistently tell boys and young men about the importance of being strong or intelligent, or creative, well-educated and highly qualified, and on the other side we tell girls that they just need to be pretty.

Slightly irresponsible marketing from a brand where their annual profits will largely come from teenagers & students…

— JESSICA KG ♡ (@JessicaKGxx) June 27, 2017

“The fact that global brands and national retailers saw fight to exploit this message and the vulnerability of young girls for profit seems at best cynical and at worst actively suppressing the efforts and ambitions of half of the population.”

This latest campaign is not the first faux pas for the brand. Benefit’s UK Twitter account went rogue in 2015 and tweeted “joke” movie titles and a fat-shaming hashtag which caused an uproar in the Twitterverse.

Then this past February, The Makeup Addiction community on Reddit pushed back at an ad for Benefit that compared a no-makeup look with a winged liner, suggesting the former eye is “yuck,” while adding eyeliner makes it “wow!”

One user wrote, “It’s not even a fully completed eye look? She just has liner on…not even mascara? Who knew black eye ink was the secret to unattainable beauty!? I can’t believe Benefit cracked the code.”

HerCampus concluded, “To wear makeup or not is an individual choice and a pure question of self-confidence, not an invitation to be judged. Do better.”

Benefit did apologize on Twitter:

Hi Kate, thank you for your feedback. Please know that we value all levels of education; we apologise for any communication that did not…

— Benefit Cosmetics UK (@BenefitUK) June 27, 2017

… reflect this. We are currently taking your comments into future design considerations xx

— Benefit Cosmetics UK (@BenefitUK) June 27, 2017

But for some, it was just a gesture to (you might say) save face, and undercut its cause marketing efforts such as the #RaiseABrow Bold is Beautiful pop-up shops for charity.

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