No7

The No7 Beauty Company is launching a new campaign and limited-edition lipstick line created in partnership with branding experts, Free The Birds ahead of International Day of Happiness. The ‘Unstoppable Lip’ campaign celebrates the return of smiles in alignment with the end of mandatory face covering guidance in the UK.

Free The Birds’ work includes a new packaging, featuring the No7 logo and naming for the limited-edition lip-stick line, as well as consultation on social media assets, online content, point-of-sale comms, and experiential activations. At the centre of the campaign is the ‘Universal Smiles’ brand world, an overarching brand strategy that unifies all aspects of the campaign.

To create the limited-edition lip-stick line, Free The Birds has renamed the four shades from No7’s Moisture Drench range: Respect Rouge, Hope Taupe, Freedom Plum and Equality Coral, a nod to the spirit of No7’s Unstoppable Together positioning. The creative agency has also adapted the iconic No7 logo to include a smile icon that sits naturally within the “o” of No7, which now expands right across the lipstick casing in a bold and celebratory two-tone pink colourway. The branding and look and feel extend across the whole campaign.

Matthew Gilpin, Design Director, Free The Birds: “To ensure the Unstoppable Lip collection packaging remained recognisable, we maximised the brand logo to create an impact in a small space while putting a little smile on the customer’s face. This balance of heroing design principles whilst elevating a brand’s positioning is the ‘beautiful thinking’ we like to bring to every project.”

Free The Birds also provided consultation on the creation of social media assets and content calendar to drive online engagement for the limited-edition range. For the in-store marketing materials, Free The Birds leveraged No7’s “Unstoppable Together” tagline to create key visuals for the campaign to merge the brand and purpose of the campaign with the slogan “Smile, You’re Unstoppable”. The creative agency also developed a series of experiential activation suggestions, including a Festival of Smile based in Boots stores within London’s square mile, which would see influential people delve deeper into the health importance of smiling.

Bethany-Rose Smith, Global Brand Manager, No7 commented: “We wanted to collaborate with a design agency that valued the heritage of No7 and our Moisture Drench range but could elevate this to celebrate happiness and the return of seeing people smiling again. Free The Birds also went the extra mile by building the ‘Universal Smiles’ brand world, which helped shape the broader campaign.”

Nick Vaus, Partner and Creative Director, Free The Birds added: “In the first of three limited edition collections, this was a wonderful exercise to work with such a significant high street brand to collaborate our creative knowledge with their influence on women in the UK. We can’t wait for you to see the other two ranges this year!”