U Beauty has a new celebrity face.
Michelle Monaghan is fronting the brand, which is a first for both parties: it’s Monaghan’s first beauty campaign, and U Beauty’s first time using a celebrity.
Although Monaghan has been busy, such as with her role in “The White Lotus” Season Three and a stint at Paris Fashion Week, she told WWD the timing was right. “This came at such a wonderful time in my career and in my life,” she said. “A makeup artist on a film recommended the Resurfacing Compound, and I was blown away. About nine months ago, they reached out to me.”
Though Monaghan has been acting for 25 years — and modeling even longer — ”this feels so personal to me now,” she said, positing that her relationship with beauty dovetails nicely with U Beauty’s ethos.
“When I first started using products, I used a lot of them, like heavy moisturizers and things that were really perfumed. Over the years, I’ve pared down,” Monaghan said. “A few years ago, I found out I had melanoma, and it was a huge wake-up call. I got a lot more discerning, I’ve become a lot wiser and taken on a less-is-more approach.”
When the brand first started ideating the campaign, it was about celebrating its proprietary Siren Capsule technology, which specifically targets damaged skin cells with active ingredients.
“Life is about shifting, evolving, adapting, what’s next, and your skin care should be just as smart, multifunctional and adaptive,” said cofounder Tina Craig. “We aim to give you back your time so you can focus on living your life.”
Of Monaghan, Craig said, “She understands importance of skin health, the complex science of simplicity and also the value of living in the moment.”
“We wanted to launch a campaign that celebrated not just the product, but what the brand stands for,” added Katie Borghese, U Beauty’s other cofounder. “In doing so, we wanted to find a brand ambassador who represented who Tina and I are as people and working mothers who travel all the time. Michelle speaks to that, and the campaign messaging does, too.”
U Beauty’s marketing strategy is also undergoing a greater uplevel.
“One of the challenges has always been how to make science sexy, and that’s something we’re chiseling away at,” said Borghese. “Customers really want to know that the product works, but you need to tell the story with an emotional hook as well. This is an inflection point of how we bridge the science with what it means for consumers on a daily basis.”
The brand is looking at opportunities across TV, Meta and YouTube for the campaign. “We’re looking to diversify channels, and what better way to do that than with a beautiful face,” Borghese said.
