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Minimalist OOH From Skincare Brand Packs Nothing Extra

An Uncommon campaign for The Ordinary

To hell with snazzy AI images and famous faces. Instead, skincare brand The Ordinary scores with a marvelously minimal OOH initiative from creative studio Uncommon.

Words drive the work. But we’re not talking about long copy. These billboards present spare, carefully chosen lines that describe the brand ethos as succinctly as possible.

Good humor abounds. Plus sleek, simple, eye-catching design with a pop art sensibility.

“People find it odd that we don’t name our products,” one ad  says. “We tried it once. But scientists are terrible copywriters. So we stuck with Hyaluronic Acid.”

Another reads: “Someone said working with celebrities would be good for our brand. But we couldn’t find one with a degree in biochemistry.”

Uncommon says its creative approach “represents the brand’s latest step towards changing the perception of the beauty industry by offering a voice of transparency.”

The text and intriguing use of negative space “speak to the brand’s philosophy of science over celebrity and marketing claims.”

The work begins breaking this week across North America and the U.K.

Uncommon’s become adland’s OOH darling of late, with other notable campaigns for MSI (cram-jammed with words), British Airways and Hiscox.

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