Metaverse is hair today, not gone tomorrow, for L’Oréal

L’Oréal Professionnel is brushing up on its use of the latest digital marketing techniques to become the first hairstylist brand to launch direct-to-avatar products across multiple online marketplaces.

The brand claims it was the first hair line to enter the metaverse late last year when it launched five “hair looks” in collaboration with CGI artist Evan Rochette on Ready Player Me, the avatar platform for multi-app use.

Now it is launching five more looks, dubbed “Gravitas”, only this time it has drafted in Wunderman Thompson, to roll them out across multiple platforms. The avatars will be available on Robox as well as Zepeto, giving the campaign a projected reach of 234 million and over 40 million games combined.

Once again the brand has partnered with Rochette but will also join forces with French hair artist Charlie Le Mindu, to drive real-world interest in the campaign.

To bring the virtual and real-worlds closer together, meta-hair and real-life hair will join forces in L’Oréal Professionnel’s global competition, the Style and Colour trophy. This contest will run with the theme ‘Meta-morphosis’ in 2023, calling for transformation and self-expression while inviting hairstylists to design meta-hair looks for the first time.

A new category exclusively for CGI artists will also be unveiled to showcase the possibilities for hair creativity inspired by the metaverse, with the winners of each category receiving the grand prize of €10,000.

L’Oréal Professionnel international general manager Anne Machet said: “This is another milestone in our journey to crack the new codes of hair beauty and provide limitless forms of virtual self-expression. As the brand leader, we are in a unique position to elevate the professional industry, CGI artists and consumers to bring more value and augmented experiences.

Wunderman Thompson global head of emerging channels Justin Peyton added: “In our daily lives, we all aim to express our individuality through appearance and style, and this will be no different in the virtual and gaming worlds where a generation of people are spending more and more of their time.

“It’s a privilege to work with pioneers like L’Oreal Professionnel and to help them define beauty and style through hair, making self-expression across worlds accessible, and gravity defying.”