For over three decades, the global beauty brand SheaMoisture has been instrumental in uplifting the Black community through its line of quality products geared toward Black consumers. While it’s clear that its prominence is a result of careful intention, there’s more than meets the eye. SheaMoisture Men, an extension of the already esteemed brand, recently unveiled its latest campaign, Black Men Love. The initiative seeks to highlight Black men through the lens of love via a digital content series featuring Black men from various backgrounds diving into their personal journeys of manhood.
According to Taydra Mitchell Jackson, the chief marketing officer of SheaMoisture, who spearheaded the campaign, creating a safe space for Black men was integral in conceptualizing this campaign.
“We’ve got a digital content series where we’re really showcasing men and what it means to love themselves and what it means for them to show love to others. We thought about some of the things we can do to ensure that men feel this. We thought about how we can provide affirmations and those things that lift and encourage. It was also important to think about how we can provide a safe space. While the goal for this is to be a national narrative, the goal is also for this to become bigger than the brand. There are some conversations that men still need to have, and they need to be able to have those in safety and community.”
While Jackson feels that creating these safe spaces is of utmost importance, she also thinks that SheaMoisture Men acts as an ally by partnering with Black men to continue evolving.
“We can create those safe spaces for men to have the discussions about this evolution to support one another in ways that are closed-door conversation, but giving men the space to continue the evolution. We believe we’re the brand to do it and be the catalyst. But this is really about catalyzing what we see as the evolution of men who are the center of our universe. So, we just really want to partner with Black men and be able to tell this evolved narrative.”
In addition to creating a safe space, Black Men Love also features a multitude of Black men from various walks of life. Not only is there intentionality in showcasing these varied representations of love through Black men’s experiences but in celebrating those moments that aren’t always shown to the rest of the world.
“The digital content series is a compelling series that showcases all of these different aspects of men and some of the aspects you may have seen before, like you’ve seen men in terms of fatherhood. We show a vignette of a father and his daughter and him talking about the reality of being a dad and how, every day, she makes him show up as his highest self. We showcase a gentleman who is showing the power of self-love. He’s featured going through spa rituals in his home and showing himself in a bathtub, really seeing men in a light you don’t get to see behind closed doors. There are several other vignettes that began to help us with reframing the narrative and being able to show men in their environments in ways that they are already showing up every day but that we don’t get to celebrate.”
The campaign consists of a digital content series and is rounded out with other components designed to bring it to life intentionally. In partnership with Black Men Heal, Black Men Smile, and The Black Man Can; Black Men Love will host wellness offerings and weekly affirmations on the heels of the in-person events that kicked it off earlier this month.
“We kicked the campaign off with two popups in New York and Los Angeles, and that’s because when we talk about showing Black men love, we want to be visual and intentional in demonstration. We talked about giving people their flowers while they can smell them, and this is an opportunity to give Black men flowers as a physical representation of the love that not only SheaMoisture Men has for Black men but also how we now want the world and the broader community to begin to interact with our brothers. These two pop-up events were just a starting place, and you’ll start to see them in different places in different cities.”
Ultimately, Jackson hopes that this campaign will help dismantle harmful stereotypes surrounding Black men while ensuring they are loved and protected.
“I hope that we spark a narrative and a conversation, but also a way of being where we can help showcase a new narrative of who men are. The potential for impact is pretty sweeping. Something is inherent in our perception, community, and societal perception. We will have done our work if this campaign can help shift those narratives. It starts with making sure that Black men feel that they can care for themselves in certain ways, that mental health is okay and important, and that they can have these conversations. It’s about making sure that Black men feel that they are loved, respected, and appreciated. If we can do that from a broader narrative, then it should help with some of those macro perceptions that we can then break down. The goal is that people see men differently, that men see themselves in a much more positive light, and that we spark caring for each other in a way that probably hasn’t been demonstrated before.”
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