Seven out of ten girls aged 10–18 say they wish they looked like a filtered version of themselves. Nearly one in two repeatedly wish they looked like someone else. At the same time, the use of advanced skincare routines is widespread even at a young age. In response, the Swedish pharmacy Apotek Hjärtat is launching The New 7-Step Routine, an integrated advertising campaign designed to strengthen self-esteem, developed in collaboration with PR agency Wenderfalck.
Apotek Hjärtat has previously introduced an age limit on advanced skincare products, and the new campaign is a continuation of that stance. In collaboration with the mental health organisation Mind, Apotek Hjärtat has now developed a new 7-step routine. Three of the steps consist of cleansing, moisturising and sun protection – the only products young skin usually needs. The remaining steps focus on something more important than products: self-esteem. These steps consist of reflection exercises designed to help strengthen young people’s self-worth. The routine is available online for everyone.
“Advanced skincare routines have become part of many young people’s daily lives, even though the need often isn’t there. That says something about the beauty pressure young people are living under today. The New 7-Step Routine is our way of addressing that development and shifting the focus to something more important: self-esteem.” says Vera Perlmann, Copywriter at Wenderfalck.
The campaign is brought to life through outdoor, digital and film executions. In the outdoor work, Apotek Hjärtat borrows the familiar language of skincare but twists it to address self-esteem instead, paired with portraits of young girls performing skincare routines — a reality that feels both recognisable and slightly unsettling.
The film initially adopts the look and tone of a classic skincare commercial, before gradually revealing a more uncomfortable reality that challenges the viewer’s assumptions.
