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The Ordinary and Uncommon lift the lid on beauty endorsements
On the surface, the towering pile of fake banknotes stacked in the window of a glistening skincare store could be interpreted as a marketing stunt, but behind the glass, the message is serious. The Cost of Influence – a new physical installation created by Uncommon for The Ordinary – was designed to highlight the hidden fees consumers pay for celebrity endorsements in the beauty industry, not tucked away in the ingredients list but embedded in the price.
The campaign, live during the brand's flagship relaunch, makes The Ordinary's positioning crystal clear: no inflated costs, no gimmicks, just science-backed skincare. "What the industry is trying to keep under wraps is the complete opposite of transparency," says Joe Sare, art director at Uncommon. "Brands are paying significant sums of money for celebrities to endorse their products and passing those costs onto the consumer. So, we decided to reveal this 'secret ingredient' to the world, to reinforce the brand's commitment to being truly open."
Far from a traditional ad campaign, the team leaned into something more visceral that people could touch, feel, and share. At the heart of the installation is a cold, almost sterile stack of imitation cash, deliberately stripped of the polish we might associate with retail window dressing.
"A huge pile of money feels quite cold, and at first glance, it could almost look like a pile of rubbish," Joe explains. "Then, your eyes are drawn to the words on the window that explain what you're seeing, and the penny drops – no pun intended."
The display's impact lies in its tension: blending stark visual simplicity with an idea that demands a second thought. Uncommon consciously leaned into that duality.
"While the installation was physical, we went into the process with social virality in mind," says Joe. "We did play around with other, more intricate ways of showing the money – it flying around in a box, shapes other than the pile, making it interactive – but we landed on this execution as the most honest and impactful way of telling the story."
On the glass, bold copy spells out that one of the most expensive ingredients in many beauty products is influence. Alongside the pile are tongue-in-cheek "price tags" assigning monetary values to fictional endorsements—the going rate, perhaps, for a 'celebrity serum' or moisturiser marketed by your favourite A-lister.
Rather than preaching or pointing fingers, the tone is playful and inclusive. "We're ultimately on the audiences' side," says Marco Del Valle, Planning Director at Uncommon. "This isn't about judging them for buying other brands, but revealing something to them that they likely were not aware of."
For a brand like The Ordinary – whose identity is rooted in radical transparency – the message isn't an opportunistic call-out but a reflection of its founding values. "The Ordinary is not anti-celebrity," Marco continues, "but it is against using unnecessary, bolt-on ingredients that ultimately cost customers more… and often the most expensive ingredient is a celebrity endorsement."
That clarity of perspective helped shape the creative direction. According to the Uncommon team, the collaboration was genuinely collaborative—not just signed off but co-authored. "They're a dream to work alongside," says Joe. The entire team has such a strong sense of what the brand stands for and a deep passion for bringing that to life. We were on the journey together at every stage… from the creative to the messaging. It's a true partnership."
The work also taps into a broader shift in what audiences want and expect from brands, especially in beauty and wellness, where the mood is turning from aspiration to honesty.
"We've always set out to build the brands people wish existed," says Marco. "And for us, a big part of this is doing work that uncovers and/or addresses real cultural tensions. Every single category has multiple tensions and untold stories within it – the world of beauty is no exception."
What's striking is how the piece walks the line between creative expression and brand activism without slipping into moralising. Instead of issuing a lecture, it sparks a conversation, both on the high street and online, where its simplicity proved especially shareable. According to Joe, most passers-by stopped to take pictures, with social sentiment "overwhelmingly positive."
For Uncommon, it marks another step in its evolution as a studio that blends brand storytelling with cultural critique. As Marco puts it: "We are living in an increasingly fragmented, hyper-visual reality. Social media has shortened our attention spans and increased the need for brands to create thumb-stopping content.
"On top of this, in the current socio-economic climate, consumers are becoming more discerning about the companies they choose to engage with. They're looking for brands with depth, brands that stand for something."
In that sense, The Cost of Influence is a provocation, holding a mirror up to an industry and nudging us to question what we're buying into.
#ordinary #uncommon #lift #lid #beauty
The Ordinary and Uncommon lift the lid on beauty endorsements
On the surface, the towering pile of fake banknotes stacked in the window of a glistening skincare store could be interpreted as a marketing stunt, but behind the glass, the message is serious. The Cost of Influence – a new physical installation created by Uncommon for The Ordinary – was designed to highlight the hidden fees consumers pay for celebrity endorsements in the beauty industry, not tucked away in the ingredients list but embedded in the price.
The campaign, live during the brand's flagship relaunch, makes The Ordinary's positioning crystal clear: no inflated costs, no gimmicks, just science-backed skincare. "What the industry is trying to keep under wraps is the complete opposite of transparency," says Joe Sare, art director at Uncommon. "Brands are paying significant sums of money for celebrities to endorse their products and passing those costs onto the consumer. So, we decided to reveal this 'secret ingredient' to the world, to reinforce the brand's commitment to being truly open."
Far from a traditional ad campaign, the team leaned into something more visceral that people could touch, feel, and share. At the heart of the installation is a cold, almost sterile stack of imitation cash, deliberately stripped of the polish we might associate with retail window dressing.
"A huge pile of money feels quite cold, and at first glance, it could almost look like a pile of rubbish," Joe explains. "Then, your eyes are drawn to the words on the window that explain what you're seeing, and the penny drops – no pun intended."
The display's impact lies in its tension: blending stark visual simplicity with an idea that demands a second thought. Uncommon consciously leaned into that duality.
"While the installation was physical, we went into the process with social virality in mind," says Joe. "We did play around with other, more intricate ways of showing the money – it flying around in a box, shapes other than the pile, making it interactive – but we landed on this execution as the most honest and impactful way of telling the story."
On the glass, bold copy spells out that one of the most expensive ingredients in many beauty products is influence. Alongside the pile are tongue-in-cheek "price tags" assigning monetary values to fictional endorsements—the going rate, perhaps, for a 'celebrity serum' or moisturiser marketed by your favourite A-lister.
Rather than preaching or pointing fingers, the tone is playful and inclusive. "We're ultimately on the audiences' side," says Marco Del Valle, Planning Director at Uncommon. "This isn't about judging them for buying other brands, but revealing something to them that they likely were not aware of."
For a brand like The Ordinary – whose identity is rooted in radical transparency – the message isn't an opportunistic call-out but a reflection of its founding values. "The Ordinary is not anti-celebrity," Marco continues, "but it is against using unnecessary, bolt-on ingredients that ultimately cost customers more… and often the most expensive ingredient is a celebrity endorsement."
That clarity of perspective helped shape the creative direction. According to the Uncommon team, the collaboration was genuinely collaborative—not just signed off but co-authored. "They're a dream to work alongside," says Joe. The entire team has such a strong sense of what the brand stands for and a deep passion for bringing that to life. We were on the journey together at every stage… from the creative to the messaging. It's a true partnership."
The work also taps into a broader shift in what audiences want and expect from brands, especially in beauty and wellness, where the mood is turning from aspiration to honesty.
"We've always set out to build the brands people wish existed," says Marco. "And for us, a big part of this is doing work that uncovers and/or addresses real cultural tensions. Every single category has multiple tensions and untold stories within it – the world of beauty is no exception."
What's striking is how the piece walks the line between creative expression and brand activism without slipping into moralising. Instead of issuing a lecture, it sparks a conversation, both on the high street and online, where its simplicity proved especially shareable. According to Joe, most passers-by stopped to take pictures, with social sentiment "overwhelmingly positive."
For Uncommon, it marks another step in its evolution as a studio that blends brand storytelling with cultural critique. As Marco puts it: "We are living in an increasingly fragmented, hyper-visual reality. Social media has shortened our attention spans and increased the need for brands to create thumb-stopping content.
"On top of this, in the current socio-economic climate, consumers are becoming more discerning about the companies they choose to engage with. They're looking for brands with depth, brands that stand for something."
In that sense, The Cost of Influence is a provocation, holding a mirror up to an industry and nudging us to question what we're buying into.
#ordinary #uncommon #lift #lid #beauty
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