Japan remains one of the most challenging markets for global brands, as campaigns that perform well in the West often struggle to connect with local audiences. In this issue of Ad of the Month, we look at how beauty brands build resonance in Japan by tapping into cultural cues and fostering confidence and aspiration among women.
At Human Made Machine, we tell you whether your creative will be effective with your target audience. This is crucial, as creative contributes up to 70% of a campaign's success. We test thousands of creatives each month in realistic, simulated media environments using the gold standard of control/exposed experiments to predict real-world impact. To dig deeper into performance, we collect qualitative and quantitative data, analyzing what works - and why.
The Lux ad demonstrates the power of promoting confidence through aspirational yet relatable messaging among Japanese women. It successfully drove 6.4 points of Brand Lift in Consideration. The ad ranks in the top 20% of Japanese beauty ads in our database for Brand Appeal and Engagement, and the top 40% for Breakthrough.
Viewers in Japan tend to respond more neutrally compared to other markets, so while these scores may not seem high at first glance, they actually indicate that the ad elicited a significantly stronger response than the others.
This ad scored particularly highly on our Inspirational, Memorability, and Relevance diagnostics, weaving together three women’s stories that reframed hair damage as a badge of effort: passion for the surfer, hard work for the mother, and a full life for the dancer. Lux Super Rich Crystal was shown helping each woman overcome that damage and embrace her potential. Clear product shots and voiceover benefit claims (“repair damage” and “crystal shine”) reinforced the message that Lux supports beautiful hair, regardless of lifestyle.
Japanese supermodel Ai Tominaga, a longtime face of Lux, was featured at the opening and closing to capture attention and showcase the product. By combining a high-profile celebrity with relatable talents, the ad struck a balance between aspiration and accessibility. The inclusive portrayal of confident women, paired with a message of self-care and resilience, clearly resonated with Japanese viewers and drove significant relevance and appeal.
"It's a place where women of all backgrounds can understand the importance of taking care of their hair."
"The confident nature of the talent makes me interested in the product. I admire them and really like them."
“When Ai Tominaga is in the show, it feels authentic and has a convincing power that makes you feel positive.”
“Rich and caring for your hair, transforming it to resist damage”
Shifting our focus to another high performer, Dior - Miss Dior, which put a global movie star front and centre and adapted a global campaign for the Japanese market, also successfully drove a 5 point increase in Consideration. Compared to other beauty ads in Japan, it topped the Breakthrough pillar, being perceived as distinct, memorable and inspirational. This ad, too, leaned into the theme of strong, empowered women.
"I like how Dior, a brand for rich girls, has created a commercial that promotes the strength of women”
"I liked how it evoked the image of a strong woman."
However, compared to the Lux ad, Dior scored lower for "relevance" probably due to a perceived lack of "Japaneseness" and being a bit far removed from daily life. While celebrating strong, beautiful women, the lack of immediate relatability for some Japanese viewers indicated a missed opportunity to connect the aspirational message with everyday confidence.
"There are people from other countries in the video, so I don't feel close to it"
"I like beautiful non-Japanese women because they look like models, but I don't like the lack of Japanese elements."
"They're so beautiful that they don't feel familiar to me, and I don't think they have anything to do with me."
In contrast to the successes of Lux and Dior, the Tsubaki haircare moist landed in the bottom 40% of Japanese beauty ads and scored low on Brand Fit. This ad, despite its attempt at female empowerment, seemingly failed to chime with the image of Tsubaki that consumers have in their minds, demonstrating that this theme alone does not guarantee success.
While some feedback acknowledged a positive sentiment around confidence in hair, critical feedback highlighted issues with visual clarity and product understanding. The ad’s dark visuals made it difficult to understand the product and its benefits, preventing the message of empowerment from fully landing.
Lux’s latest campaign succeeded by balancing aspirational beauty with relatable authenticity, delivering a message of confidence through strong brand integration tailored to the Japanese market. For advertisers, it’s a reminder that empowerment needs to feel rooted in the target audiences' everyday lives, and that they must clearly communicate how the product contributes to that feeling of confidence.
At Human Made Machine, we help our partners identify creative that truly resonates and turn that understanding into confident, effective advertising.
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