CVS tackles Gen Z insecurity from social media in new campaign

The damaging role social media plays in harming the self-esteem of young adults, girls in particular, has been well-documented. A few brands, including Dove, have tried to shine a light on the issue. Now, CVS is stepping up with a new campaign meant to highlight the insecurity created for Gen Z viewers by influencers and others on social media. The work, called “Role Model,” comes as the drugstore chain celebrates the fifth anniversary of its Beauty Mark initiative. The effort—which covers all beauty brands sold at CVS—involves putting a “CVS Beauty Mark” watermark on advertising images, such as a model's face, that have not been altered while denoting those that have been changed. The chain reached full compliance in May of 2021. “We started something that we thought was important—it was good for our business too—but it started a movement in the industry that was good,” CVS Chief Marketing Officer Norman de Greve said in an interview. “But you get to today and it’s just clear there’s so much more work to be done.” A recent report from Common Sense Media called “Teens and Mental Health: How Girls Really Feel About Social Media” found that 45% of girls using TikTok say they feel “addicted” to the site. In addition, 75% of girls with moderate to severe depressive symptoms who use Instagram, and 69% of girls with similar symptoms who use TikTok, say they are served suicide-related content at least monthly on the platforms. Read also: Dove uses deepfake to warn of toxic influencers CVS cited research that 85% of Gen Z Americans say social media has direct impact on their self-esteem and self-image, and that 50% of parents with children under 18 feel their child has suffered recently because of social media use. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The new campaign includes a 30-second video showcasing how what viewers see on social media is not reality. The video shows a freckled influencer-type promoting a beauty product—the camera shifts to illustrate how a young girl sees the influencer, filtered to a persona without freckles or real-life blemishes, on her phone. “Beauty filters are impacting our mental health,” the text reads, with a call to action to “Tag your posts #DigitallyAltered or #BeautyUnaltered.” Created with Digitas, the campaign will not air on TV. Instead, it will air in 30-, 15- and 10-second formats on the social media platforms where CVS is advocating for change—TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram—as well as on the retailer’s website. CVS also partnered with influencers and doctors including Abbie Herbert, Arshia Moorjani and Dr. Mariel Buqué. “We need to break this cycle,” said de Greve. “What’s so important for people to realize is when you alter the image to feel better about yourself, you’re contributing to the mental health problem for others.” Dove has also been tackling this issue for several years. Last year in a campaign with Ogilvy, the brand used deepfake technology to showcase the toxic role influencers and the advice they peddle can have on the self-esteem of girls. CVS has tackled other societal issues as well. In the fall, it also reduced the price of its menstrual products by 25% as part of an initiative to end “period poverty” and provide more accessible care to girls and women.

CVS tackles Gen Z insecurity from social media in new campaign

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