Mary Kay Cosmetics was the 2014 NSAC corporate sponsor. Their brand was a unique challenge in many ways, but mostly, in that their products are not sold directly to customers in stores or online. Customers instead work with an Independent Beauty Consultant (IBC) to make purchases. We were given $10 million and one year to attract 18 – 24 year old women to Mary Kay, both as customers and new IBCs. We decided to establish IBCs as women customers could trust to give them an honest opinion on their date-night smoky eye or to tell them the truth when their orange lipstick just isn't working. The result was a campaign based on the unbridled honesty shared between close girlfriends.

Mary Kay. Always Honest.

View the entire campaign plans book here

Photo Direction / Art Direction: Noelle Kirchmer

Photography: Jeff Malin

Copywriting: Noelle Kirchmer + Andi Tonis

Voice Direction + Sound Editing : Austin Schuld

Continuing our campaign's playfully honest attitude, we decided to poke fun at our target's dependency on technology by creating situations in which the tech just doesn't cut it. These spots will encourage our target to put down the phone and depend on a real relationship for their beauty advice. Competitors can use whatever technology they want to try to reach the target, but it will never compare to the honest, human relationship built through Mary Kay's direct selling model.

What's NSAC? It's the National Student Advertising Competition. I'll elaborate:

Every year, the American Advertising Federation presents student-run advertising agencies across the country with a corporate sponsor who provides a case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. The case study reflects a real world situation to challenge the students' critical thinking and creativity.

As a member of Michigan State University's student-run agency, 'Cedar Banks', I must work with the other members of my team to research the product and its competition, identify potential problems and develop an integrated campaign for the client. We then pitch the idea at a district level to a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals. Achieving first place at the district competition ensures your team a spot at the national competition where you compete against the #1 teams from each district.

With over 150 teams competing annually, the National Student Advertising Competition is always an exciting and challenging way to spend the academic year.