INSITE OOH Media Platform

ZM Cosmetics’ latest campaign on Ajman billboards is almost disarming in its softness, contrasting UAE’s landscape of hard-edged luxury and high-contrast colors. 

The campaign, spanning a large-format, rose-hued billboard, has chosen a different route altogether. Pastel shades of flowers dominate the background, while a selection of skincare products and beauty essentials sit atop a marble pedestal, accompanied by an oval mirror. 

The ad is a beauty and cosmetics ad, no doubt, but it does so in a way that is not overbearing. The ad copy “Choose excellence…”, and it does so with a subtle confidence. The brand is not trying to be revolutionary or edgy; it is trying to be dependable, elegant, and aspirational in a very traditional sense.

In terms of visuals, the brand has borrowed a lot from international beauty advertising, including product imagery, soft light, and symmetry, and made it its own by using Arabic text, store locations, website, and a clear phone number to contact them. Even though it is a beauty ad, it is also a reminder of the brand’s presence and availability.

What’s striking here, though, is the absence of the human form. Beauty advertising often focuses on idealised images of the face and body, and ZM chooses instead to let the products do the talking. The mirror, of course, becomes a symbolic representation of the consumer, subtly encouraging the viewer to insert themselves into the image.

In terms of the OOH strategy, the ad takes a safe approach, but in a good way, perfect for Ajman’s scene. It doesn’t try to do anything new or revolutionary in the world of beauty advertising. Instead, it focuses on the emotional benefits of softness, femininity, elegance, and trust. Sometimes less can indeed be more.

The campaign unfolded in the third week of January on Ajman’s hoardings.