Gillette Venus adds acne, cellulite, scars, vitiligo and more skin tones to Animal Crossing characters

Platform worked with digital designer Nicole Cuddihy on the new 'Skinclusive' options

Published On
Aug 06, 2020

Editor's Pick

Gillette has long been a proponent of diversity, and it wants to make Nintendo’s Animal Crossing—one of the hottest games of the summer—even more diverse. As part of its “My Skin. My Way” campaign, Gillette’s razor and shaving products line Venus has partnered with digital designer Nicole Cuddihy to create new “Skinclusive” avatar designs for players to choose in the game.

Before, players had the option of a few different skin representations, but with Venus’ involvement, players can now build their characters from 19 different skin types and eight different skin tones. From that, more than 250 combinations can be created, and avatars can be customized with characteristics such as freckles, acne, cellulite, scars (including burns, c-section and mastectormy), tattoos and underrepresented skin types like vitiligo.

To celebrate the new designs, Venus is hosting a “Skinclusive Summer Social” event in Animal Crossing on YouTube Live on August 31. Venus is working with Grey New York for creative, Townhouse/GPS for production and Carat for media.

“With Animal Crossing, we saw a unique opportunity to meet women where they are this summer by providing new ways to make gaming a more inclusive space, while also enabling them to gather virtually, safely on a beach to celebrate summer and skin inclusivity,” said Anthony van Dijk, senior brand director of Venus North America, in a statement.

Character with skin pigmentation

 

Character with mastectomy scars

 

Character with c-section scar

 

Character with cellulite

 

 
 

Character with arm scar

 
 

Character with arm hair

 
 

Character with curves

 
 

Character with acne

 
 

Character with moles

 
 

Character with body tattoo