Coats' Satirical Skincare Highlights Damaging Trends in Young Skin Routines

Coats, the skincare brand designed for young skin, is launching in the UK with a bold new creative platform, ‘0% hype, 100% effective’, developed with M+C Saatchi Talk. The new campaign challenges the beauty industry’s hype culture with a satirical fake product – Jellyfish Sting Serum – to highlight the damaging skincare trends targeting young audiences.

The launch comes in response to a growing issue: many gen z's are experiencing damaged skin from overuse of harsh actives, and over two thirds are now using anti-ageing products. Coats’ curated three-step range is dermatologically designed to protect young skin now and prevent future damage with gentle yet powerful, accessible formulas for healthy skin every day. ‘Hide Nothing’ is designed to cut through the noise and position Coats as an honest, dermatologist-approved, gender-neutral go-to for under 25s.

At the heart of the campaign is Jellyfish Sting Serum, a fictitious skincare product applied with a 'Stinger Gun' claiming to deliver 8,347 micro-stings per second to 'sting your way to better skin'. In reality, the product is a parody – a deliberate overstatement to satirise the beauty industry’s miracle claims, over-complicated gadgets, and fear-led marketing. By pushing the absurdity to the extreme, the stunt reinforces Coats’ promise of '0% hype, 100% effective' skincare. Social-first content of the fake product is being seeded with trusted creators, including Natalie O’Neill, in the spaces where hype spreads fastest.

The work has been developed in partnership with M+C Saatchi Talk. The agency was appointed by Waldencast Brands to lead the brand’s UK launch, including the development of Coats’ brand platform, tone of voice, creative campaign strategy, and a fully integrated PR, social and influencer rollout. The new engagement and launch follow the appointment of Amaya Alvarez as managing director of M+C Saatchi Talk earlier this year.

Blandine Langloy, CEO, Waldencast Brands, said, “Coats is a brand born of simplicity and transparency, and this campaign turns that belief into a statement. By creating a completely fake product – the Jellyfish Sting Serum – we’re holding up a mirror to the industry and saying: enough with the hype. Young people don’t need pain, pressure or perfection, they need skincare that protects. ‘0% hype, 100% effective’ speaks not just to what our products do, but what we stand for: empowering young people to be confident in their skin, with nothing to hide.”

Dr. Emma Amoafo-Mensah, consultant dermatologist, commented, “Teen skin isn’t just adult skin in miniature - it has its own needs, challenges, and sensitivities. It doesn’t need 10 steps or anti-ageing ingredients. It needs smart, simple care that protects what’s healthy and prevents what’s next. But right now, young people are being bombarded with skincare misinformation, unrealistic standards, and trends that can do more harm than good. That’s why this campaign is so important - it’s cutting through the noise to protect young skin with products that are simple, effective, and grounded in real dermatological science - not marketing hype.”

​Jo Bacon, group CEO, M+C Saatchi Group UK, added, “At M+C Saatchi, we believe in Cultural Power – using creativity to drive meaningful change. The Jellyfish Sting Serum is a fantastic example of that: a stunt that is instantly shareable and funny, but with a serious point to make about the harm caused by over-hyped skincare trends. It’s also exactly the kind of integrated brief we love – with brand platform, creative, influencer and comms all working together to spark conversation and challenge the status quo.”

Amaya Alvarez, managing director, M+C Saatchi Talk, concluded, “This has been a brilliant opportunity to partner with a client right from the start of their journey. The fake product stunt grabs attention, but the real story is about protecting young skin from unnecessary and sometimes harmful routines. It’s a creative way to tackle a real problem – and one that will get people talking for all the right reasons.”