Confronting prejudice and inequality is at the heart of this campaign. While strides were made at the Oscars this year with many historical firsts, there were still no female directors nominated, plus a lack of BIPOC and POC representation in multiple categories. UOMA Beauty painted the Hollywood Sign from white to multiple colors not only to champion change but to challenge the industry to become a more inclusive space for all.

UOMA was founded on the mission to create space in the beauty industry for all genders and races, so rewriting the rules of inclusivity is at the heart of UOMA’s business. While the 2023 Oscars marked many historical firsts, it still fell short. No female directors were nominated. BIPOC and other POC talent were snubbed in most categories. This work was a direct result of the lack of progress we were seeing for both marginalized communities and women in the entertainment industry.

With a limited budget, we needed an idea that would create impact and put a metaphorical stake in the ground identifying UOMA as a leader in diversity initiatives. We decided to launch on the day of the historic Oscars awards show, and in the middle of International Women’s Month, to add relevance to our stunt and join conversations that were already happening.

After 95 years of the Academy Awards, there is still a huge representation gap when it comes to gender. Of all winners in 2023, women of color account for 2 percent, the ratio of men to women nominees is 5 to 1, and the ratio of white to underrepresented nominees is 17 to 1. Even after 8 years of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite going viral, no Black woman has ever received a directing nomination, nor has any Black director ever won best director. This lack of representation at the most prestigious film award show in the world is a direct reflection of the entertainment industry and the perspectives that are showcased within it.

UOMA is a black owned beauty brand founded on the mission to carve out space for marginalized communities and champion diversity. Hollywood has been a categorically white space. Look at the sign. White. After 95 years of the Academy Awards there still is a huge representation gap. Of all winners in 2023, women of color account for 2 percent and the ratio of white to underrepresented nominees is 17 to 1. To challenge the industry, we set out to paint the sign from white to the multiple skin tones that should be represented. On the morning of the Oscars we released a social media video showing the Hollywood we imagine- one that advocates all colors. Done with a mix of special effects and live action we were able to create a piece of content that not only passed as believable but was written up in countless publications.

Our communications strategy was to shout our message from the hilltops, the Hollywood hilltops specifically. This ultimately was an awareness play. While a shift in the organizational makeup and voting practices of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was a goal for this campaign, the immediate audience was broad and inclusive by design.

To get our idea to as many people as possible, we took to TikTok because it is the most relevant social media platform for this type of conversation based on shareability and comments. We also created a CTA to ask the public who else should have been nominated so they could engage in the conversation and have their voices heard. From there we reposted on Instagram to increase our reach. Because this was done in the name of activism, we didn’t have any media planning and instead leaned on it being truly organic.

As yet another year of the Academy Awards approached without sufficiently diverse nominees, UOMA saw an opportunity to make a statement. After creating the footage for this video with a combination of practically shot footage and VFX in the incredibly short span of two weeks, we then edited our narrative to make it TikTok friendly, including captions, text-to-speech, and trending audio. It was posted the morning of the Oscars with a CTA asking viewers to comment with other names they wanted to see among nominees.

Living on TikTok and Instagram, this work sparked conversations not only about race and those who were severely snubbed by the Academy but also about whether or not the sign painting actually happened. Familiar with UOMA’s rebellious spirit and diversity initiatives, most walked away believing that their favorite Black-owned beauty brand had actually pulled off this near-impossible feat.

The video received an overwhelmingly positive response, garnering 17.4K organic views across TikTok and Instagram. Viewers were actively engaged in our message, as evidenced by a high average TikTok watch time of 20.8 seconds, meaning the average viewer watched the bulk of the action. The video received hundreds of comments of support, praise, awe, and disbelief from viewers, among them beauty influencers, entertainers, and even other beauty brands. In turn, UOMA saw an increase of 320% in sessions on their website immediately following the post. The stunt was featured in AdAge, AdForum, Ads of Brands, Adobo Magazine, Little Black Book, The Stable, and BeautyMatter.

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry in the United States and worldwide. But after 95 years, there is still a huge representation gap when it comes to gender. Of all winners in 2023, women of color account for 2 percent, the ratio of men to women nominees is 5 to 1, and the ratio of white to underrepresented nominees is 17 to 1. Even after 8 years of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite going viral, no Black woman has ever received a directing nomination, nor has any Black director ever won best director.