South Korean cosmetics brand Laneige is making waves with its latest ad. But instead of diverting all the attention solely to its products, the video casts a spotlight on South Korean actor Lee Tae Gu and 23-year-old Singaporean Trishna Goklani, who play each other’s love interests in the story.
The original short film My BB Love was written and produced by Goklani, a fashion stylist/blogger who’s currently studying fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, and creative writing student Jemimah Wei.
Both Singaporeans had wanted to do something about the lack of representation for darker-skinned women in the Asian beauty industry, so they created this story about a Korean exchange student falling in love with fellow classmate Goklani and pitched it as a campaign idea to Laneige, reported Mumbrella Asia.
The end goal of Laneige may be to promote its BB cushions, but the significance of the gorgeously shot scenes went a lot deeper than that. Coupled with strong chemistry between both leads and an endearing Korean drama-esque storyline, the video challenged stereotypical Asian beauty standards in a lighthearted, humorous way to address the issue of racial representation, which Wei told Mumbrella Asia can be “a very touchy subject in Singapore”.
Goklani, who admitted she had experienced incidents of overt racism, said that the project was close to her heart.
“I’ve constantly been told through marketing and stock availability that I’m not within the ‘normal’ range of shades, which is something girls like me feel very strongly about,” she explained to Mumbrella Asia. “It means so much to girls like me who recognize through this representation and execution that our marketing dollar is worth something to the brand.”
Netizens also came forth in droves to praise the viral video for its dramatic storytelling and diverse cast.
