RIYADH: Global beauty brand L’Oreal Paris celebrated women’s empowerment with a series of activities in Boulevard Riyadh City on Monday and Tuesday.
The private event gathered over 100 female influencers from the region and opened with an impressive projection across 82 screens to display the brand’s manifesto and a “Lessons of Worth” testimonial from its Saudi spokesperson, singer and actress Aseel Omran.
Omran, together with two regional L'Oreal managers, held a panel discussion on women’s empowerment.
Her personal empowerment path, her connection with L'Oreal Paris, and what the company’s famous “Because You’re Worth It” tagline meant to her were all topics of conversation.
“Everything I said in this campaign was genuinely from my heart because, in each one of us as women, we faced that one situation that hurt us the most yet taught us so much and made us stronger,” Omran told the audience, as she expressed her happiness about being a part of the event.
“The slogan is changing its meaning inside me year by year because my perspective of myself is changing as I grow older. At one phase of my life, it was about the number of followers on Instagram, or if a guy tells me I am beautiful. But, honestly, today it is about how I see myself and how I reflect on myself. The real value is what I see in myself when I’m without makeup and with messy hair in my home and I look at myself in the mirror. Do I love myself with my dark circles and messy hair? It’s normal to have pimples, cellulite, and you should value yourself the way you are without filters.”
She also gave people her definition of a strong woman.
“Some people think a strong woman is a woman with a loud voice who curses and walks around being rude to people, but that’s not the real definition of a strong woman to me. She’s not the one being rude to others or wearing a bold outfit. She is the one that has a style in her attitude and can adapt to the changes around her and find what is suitable for her without being rude or mean to others.”
“Lessons of Worth” are testimonials from the brand’s global ambassadors sharing their personal views on the “Because You’re Worth It” tagline.
Maya Ghantous, the manager of L'Oreal’s product division in the MENA region, said the tagline had recently marked its 50th anniversary and was the first in the world to emphasize the importance of self-worth.
It was created in 1971 by Ilon Specht, a 23-year-old female copywriter at the ad agency McCann.
It was revolutionary at the time because of its bold message and it featured a woman's voice. Most advertisements for women's products featured a male voice as it was thought to be more authoritative.
“The slogan is empowering women of all ages and backgrounds to believe in their beauty and sense of worth,” Ghantous added.
The event had other activities like engraving guests' names on products, a corner for introducing L’Oreal products, and a photoshoot booth.
