Lancome will launch a 300 million dollar global advertising campaign this fall. The ultra-glamorous and artistic new print campaign is designed to spark a personal connection with women through its exceptional macro-photography camera-work, eye-popping colors, clear and concise vocabulary, and products that showcase what they are and what they do.

"Lancome is always evolving as a brand," states Edgar Huber, President of The Luxury Products Division, L'Oreal USA. "We know the importance of keeping our image fresh and as a leading luxury brand we have an obligation to continuously surprise, astonish and reinvent. This new campaign clearly conveys the current image of Lancome."

The campaign was created through a partnership between Paris-based Agence 133, a newly created arm of Publicis Worldwide, and Lancome's International and US marketing teams. Agence 133, an agency specifically dedicated to luxury market advertising, is an art lab that shakes up traditional boundaries between professions to offer luxury brands unique ways to communicate to their audience.

"Extensive research in the US led us to this new advertising approach," states Odile Roujol, Deputy General Manager, Lancome. "Lancome advertising now puts products center-stage, where they are clearly showcased with succinct copy about product innovation, performance and benefits. The captivating visuals are extremely upscale and breathtakingly beautiful; the entire campaign is consistent with French-style luxury and helps to position Lancome as the cutting-edge, trailblazing beauty brand that it is," states Roujol.

The message of the campaign conveys a very personal approach to beauty, establishing an emotional connection between the brand and women through a handwritten signature, the use of the first person in the copy, and the intimacy of close-up photography.

An airy, fine and feminine hand-written Lancome signature replaces the "Believe in Beauty" tagline and is reminiscent of an artist who has signed his painting or a personal letter, making the viewer feel more emotionally connected to the ad.

The first-person language is intended to be a testimonial that brings women closer to the brand and reinforces that Lancome is unapproachable, but rather understanding of women's beauty needs. The text is short and makes an impact by focusing on product benefits in bullet point format.

Photographed by famed fashion photographer Solve Sundsbo, the visuals themselves are large and in your face, evoking a sense of empowering beauty and communicating power and truth. Lancome's symbolic rose logo, while it will remain on product packaging, is no longer in the forefront of the advertising but rather is positioned as an accessory.

This new advertising style also offers more creative options for Lancome: some of the ads feature just products while some feature a product along side an extremely close-up photograph of Lancome models such as Ines Sastre or Lizzy Jagger. The pairing of model-and-product images were conceived to capture the exciting and emotional moment when a woman interacts with a Lancome product.

One of the first print ads to appear is for New Juicy Wear Ultra-Lasting Full Colour and Shine Lip Duo. Along with the new Juicy Wear lip product, the ad features an extreme close-up profile photograph of ultra glossy red lips next to an equally glossy red candy apple.

The September issue of Vogue will feature an 8-page gatefold impact unit -- the first type of unit the magazine has featured in five years -- which will begin with a leader featuring Lancome's new brand statement: "Experiencing beauty is like a smile . . . an energy, a feeling that takes us over . . . completely."

Approximately one third of the global media budget will be spent in the US. The print campaign is comprised of ten new visuals featuring nine skincare and makeup products and one new Lancome brand statement. The full campaign will officially launch in September issues (with some appearing earlier in August issues) of women's fashion magazines including Vogue, W, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Essence and Latina. Other magazines that will feature the ads include Allure, InStyle, and Vanity Fair.

Outdoor venues in New York City and Los Angeles will include Grand Central Station, mallscapes, buses and taxi tops among others. Beauty trade magazine advertising includes Women's Wear Daily and The Daily, distributed during New York Fashion Week.

Lancome Paris is distributed in over 2000 department and specialty stores nationwide and in more than 160 countries globally. Lancome has a portfolio of products that includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, sun, body, and hair.