Skincare Brand The Ordinary Delivers a Dystopian Vision

'The Periodic Fable' puts a fresh face on beauty routines

For lots of folks, daily skincare regimens are tantamount to dystopian routines that numb both mind and soul.

The Ordinary vividly eviscerates that vibe in “The Periodic Fable,” a campaign from Uncommon and suggests a better way.

Directed by Smuggler’s Olivia De Camps—who channels George Lucas’ THX 1138 crossed with Terry Gilliam’s Brazil—we visit a classroom where skincare trends like “ice rolling” and “morning shed” hold sway.

With choreography inspired by facial massage techniques, a self-consciously surreal primer follows. It lampoons the conformist foolishness of prevailing notions and presents The Ordinary’s pledge to break the mold.

Uncommon cofounder Nils Leonard calls the film “the truth serum the beauty industry has been avoiding for decades. This ‘table’ is a powerful teaching tool with the potential to rewrite the industry’s mistruths in a matter of minutes—using science to reframe how we understand beauty from now on.”

It’s campy but a tad uncomfortable. That feels about right for this type of sci-fi flex, keeping viewers a bit off balance while the brand message sinks in. The client-agency team have busted beauty myths before with considerable style. This represents a memorable addition to that portfolio, offering something novel (for the category) yet familiar (in terms of genre), while inviting consumers to think along.

“The brief in a nutshell was ‘How do you get people to care about the Ordinary’s ethos of transparency … in a culture that’s all about exaggeration and hyperbole?” agency planning director Marco Del Valle tells Muse.

“And the answer was—we couldn’t. We couldn’t beat the industry at their own game. So we had to shine a light on the fact that the game itself is broken, opening people’s eyes to realities we have all learned to tolerate, when really we should be outraged.”

As for the shoot, senior creatives Elisa Czerwenka and Ellie Daghlian report: “We brought together people of all ages and walks of life to represent all of us, the everyday consumers being fed these myths and rituals through social media. It was amazing to see them come together and completely nail every scene.”

One standout moment was Brenda, who features in the ‘poreless’ scene with a glossy face-mask. She had just one take to deliver her performance and absolutely smashed it. It was a genuinely emotional moment on set. Even watching the monitors, we all felt we were creating something that would truly speak to people.”

What’s more, “Researching and choosing which ‘treatments’ to feature was its own surreal experience,” they recall. “The more we looked, the more we realized how many strange contraptions and products exist. Treatments we see every day that do little more than drain our wallets. We wanted to capture that full spectrum of myths and misconceptions and bring them to life.”

“The most shocking part? We barely had to make a single prop. Every absurd device and treatment you see in the film is something that actually exists.”

The film drops today, with OOH and influencer outreach in the U.K. and North America.

These billboards are trying to tell us something: