HAIR TALK

Exploring Gen Z’s Relationship with Hair and Identity

DOVE

Dove has been on a mission to change beauty perceptions, and that includes hair. Gen Z has been dubbed “the largest and most diverse generation in U.S. history.” To capture this story in a photo-driven piece The New York Times newsroom profiled members of Gen Z who provided self-portraits that reflected their views about what makes them different.

For this generation, hair is seen as a vital part of expressing our identity and embracing diversity. As part of Unilever’s mission to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life, Dove is actively working to challenge hair stereotypes – whether in color, style or texture – and celebrate hair diversity. Not just by paving the way for unusual hair styles, but also by making a dent in the racial hair stereotypes that prevail in society and in the workplace.

With Hair Talks, we interviewed a number of young women in this generation who view hair as an expression of their individuality. We photographed each one as they spoke about their own personal journeys in which they've come to embrace their hair and were either inspired by their parents or came to inspire their parents. This branded content series explored how Gen Z relate to hair, their identity, and how this differs to their parent’s generation.

Dove Hair Stories Wide in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director

“As a kid, I had braids most of the time, whereas other girls had long, loose curls — that really played a role in my identity. I felt like I’m not pretty because I don’t have these long loose curls.” – Siera Oliver, 23

Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director

“I have a lot of anxiety and get very nervous when I have to speak my mind, but I would draw a lot, ever since I was little. I like expressing myself visually. I’ve always been interested in cartoon characters. I thought it was really cool that they have really unnatural hair color.” – Victoria Vigorito, 16 

Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director

“I feel like my generation is on a mission to encourage women to embrace their natural forms. A a whole, I think my generation is definitely the most accepting of different kinds of people. I feel free in New York City to express myself, surrounded by people with different fashino styles, skin colors and hair textures.” – Caity McSween, 21

Dove Hair Stories Editorial in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories Editorial in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories Newspaper Editorial in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director
Dove Hair Stories in WebP by Chomoi Picho-Owiny Creative Director

Outcome

  • 7.4 million impressions

Studio: The New York Times / Creative Direction: Chomoi Picho-Owiny / Art Direction & Design: Caitlin Clancy / Writer: Jainnie Cho / Photography: famefamefame 

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Work

Thoughts

Testimonials

Dream to work with

There is only one word for Chomoi. PHENOMENAL. I LOVED working with this man. He’s creative gold. Absolutely brilliant and a dream to work with. He’s just great.

Lucy Witts

Senior Producer, Venture Video

A great inspiration

I had the pleasure of working with Chomoi and and it was great to see such a passionate and articulate creative director in action. He was a great inspiration to the team, a true professional.

Mandy Chan

Senior Interaction Designer, Google

A valuable mentor for me

Chomoi is a highly skilled and passionate creative director. I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a great deal during our time working together... He is a person who champions creative thinking, has excellent presentation skills that are effective when communicating with clients and the wider team. Chomoi was also a valuable mentor for me, sharing his knowledge in the interests of seeing me succeed.

Fernando Lobina

Senior Designer, AKQA

A true inspiration

Chomoi is a true inspiration. His ideation is innovative. His mentoring is invaluable. I will take so much away from working alongside someone with such an abundance of experience.

Amber Howe

Design Lead, IBM Expert Labs

I’d jump at the chance to work with him again

Chomoi was always driven towards creating the best possible work we could. He's an inspiring mentor, and I'd jump at the chance to work with him again.

Eleanor Nugent

Creative Director, Warner Bros.

Genuine creative talent

Chomoi is insightful, passionate and a genuine creative talent. He is an absolute pleasure to work with and you can always rely on Chomoi to come up with strong creative work to be proud of at every meeting. I miss working with him and recommend him extremely highly!

Maggie Lonergan

CEO, Publicis Emil

A rare breed

Chomoi was an inspiration. He created solutions that clients loved, users understood, all the while focusing on the bottom line of the business. His innovative style always pushed projects further than the brief. A rare breed of Creative Director.

Hitesh Supeda

Senior Experience Designer, Habitat

An inspiring professional

He's simply an inspiring professional and a great leader. He always strives to reach creativity excellence with a smile on.

Sara Simoncini

Art Director, Sapient

Visionary and out of the box

His presentation style is extremely consultative and collaborative. He always had the end user in the centre and spun ideas that were visionary and out of the box.

Pawan Udernani

Senior Director, Publicis Sapient

His greatest forte is to contantly question key fundamentals of what’s being delivered

Highly conceptual and always hands on, Chomoi has been a storm of inspiration in every project I've worked with him. He is also quite a connoisseur of fine dining and boutique hotels.

Daisoo Lee

Creative Director, Sky

Innovative ideas

Chomoi has the ability to grasp the business need of the client, understand what the brand stands for and come up with original innovative ideas to solve the clients business problems - quicker than any other creative director I have worked with.

Shailesh Sreedharan

Senior Manager, Publicis Sapient

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