Skincare Brand The Ordinary Delivers a Dystopian Vision

'The Periodic Fable' puts a fresh face on beauty routines

For lots of folks, daily skincare regimens are tantamount to dystopian routines that numb both mind and soul.

The Ordinary vividly eviscerates that vibe in “The Periodic Table,” a campaign from Uncommon and suggests a better way.

Directed by Smuggler’s Olivia De Camps—who channels George Lucas’ THX 1138 crossed with Terry Gilliam’s Brazil—we visit a classroom where skincare trends like “ice rolling” and “morning shed” hold sway.

With choreography inspired by facial massage techniques, a self-consciously surreal primer follows. It lampoons the conformist foolishness of prevailing notions and presents The Ordinary’s pledge to break the mold.

Uncommon cofounder Nils Leonard calls the film “the truth serum the beauty industry has been avoiding for decades. This ‘table’ is a powerful teaching tool with the potential to rewrite the industry’s mistruths in a matter of minutes—using science to reframe how we understand beauty from now on.”

It’s campy but a tad a uncomfortable. That feels about right for this type of sci-fi flex, keeping viewers a bit off balance while the brand message sinks in. The client-agency team have busted beauty myths before with considerable style. This represents a memorable addition to that portfolio, offering something novel (for the category) yet familiar (in terms of genre), while inviting consumers to think along.

The film drops today, with clever OOH and influencer outreach in the U.K. and North America.

These billboards are trying to tell us something: