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US-based haircare brand Suave has unveiled Hair You Can Believe, an ad exposing the styling tactics often used in shampoo commercials. Debuting in April, the campaign shows the tactics used to make hair look ‘perfect’ in ads, such as adding hair extensions or having staff in green-screen bodysuits manipulate the model’s hair during a shot. The campaign was a response to Suave's research showing that 74% of millennial women believe the hair typically shown in shampoo ads is unachievable.

This arresting display of ‘behind the scenes’ honesty has its roots in a trend we first wrote about waaaay back in 2012. FLAWSOME – which urged brands to recognize the realities of the social landscape and honestly embrace their mistakes and shortcomings – sparked a conversation that even inspired Tyra Banks (happy to help). Fast forward to 2018. No one doubts that the consumer arena has only become more transparent: just ask Uber, United Airlines, Samsung, Facebook… we could go on. Meanwhile, the battle for trust isn’t going so well. Figures from the latest Edelman Trust Barometer put global consumer trust in business at 52% – the lowest number Edelman have ever seen. Ouch.

Amid all that, consumers are still driven by the basic human need for trusted relationships. That’s the reason your business – every business – will forever be obsessed with brand authenticity. Getting FLAWSOME won’t repair everything that’s broken about the brand/consumer relationship in 2018. But now more than ever it can constitute a powerful first step. So in your next meeting, try throwing out this question: how could we jolt consumers into a new way of looking at us by exposing an industry or brand flaw in a way that’s intriguing, or playful, or simply brutally honest?