Gillette Venus’ Skinclusive Summer line launches on Animal Crossing
Gillette Venus is taking fun in the sun digitally.
The Boston-based beauty brand is launching its new Skinclusive Summer line virtually on the Animal Crossing game with characters that represent the diversity of their skin in real life, the company said.
To create the new avatar designs with Animal Crossing, Venus partnered with digital designer Nicole Cuddihy to bring the skin-inclusive designs to the game.
In total, these designs will bring 19 different skin types and more than 250 designs of such common skin realities as freckles, acne, hair, cellulite, scars and stretch marks to the Animal Crossing world.
“While momentum for diversity in design is building, there are many areas where progress feels slow. The fact that I could add scars and wrinkles to warriors or outlaws, but not characters in less combat-driven games felt discouraging,” Cuddihy said. “With these designs, I hope that all women in Animal Crossing can find comfort and representation in this carefully developed collection. I drew inspiration from those in my own life to ensure the designs I was creating accurately represented their skin stories in a way that feels real, celebratory and beautiful.”
As part of its My Skin. My Way campaign, this new activation looks to celebrate every woman’s right to feel comfortable and live freely in their own skin. By bringing more representation to the Animal Crossing world, Venus is enabling players to see and celebrate more of their identity in the world of gaming, the company said.
“In a world where there are so many explicit and implicit rules on how women should show or feel about their skin, skin-inclusivity and positive representation matters,” Anthony van Dijk, the senior brand director of Venus North America said. “The purpose of our My Skin. My Way campaign is to ensure that we’re putting out responsible imagery that represents reality and celebrates all types of skin, while also spotlighting the diverse skin stories of women all around the world. 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.”
To celebrate the launch of the Skinclusive Summer line by Venus, as well as National Beach Day, the brand will be hosting an Animal Crossing event on YouTube live on Aug 31.