Eva Longoria to Direct Upcoming Commercial for L’Oreal Paris

Photo credit: Getty Images

Eva Longoria, the award-winning actor, director, writer and producer, has signed on to direct a major upcoming commercial for L'Oréal Paris, it was announced today at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Longoria has been a global ambassador for the France-based personal care company since 2005.

The announcement was made during McCann Worldgroup’s featured session at the 70th Annual Cannes International Festival of Creativity, which serves as the definitive benchmark for the marketing, media and advertising industry on Wednesday, June 21. The panel took the 50+ years of L’Oréal’s “Because You’re Worth It” global brand platform as an entry point to discuss the role that brands and creativity can play in shaping perception, driving representation and changing culture.

The session featuring Longoria was moderated by Daryl Lee, global CEO of McCann Worldgroup and the McCann agency, and also included Blanca Juti, L’Oréal’s Chief Corporate Affairs & Engagement Officer and Laura Simpson, McCann Worldgroup’s Chief Intelligence Officer and President of Truth Central. McCann has served as a global marketing partner to L’Oréal since 1971, when a young woman copywriter from McCann’s New York, Ilon Specht, wrote the tag line, “Because I’m Worth It.” Over time, the tagline evolved to “Because You’re Worth It.’

The platform is at the heart of one of the most celebrated and iconic branding campaigns of the last 50 years and has featured many of the world’s most important women artists, including Cybill Shepard, Viola Davis, Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Elle Fanning and Jane Fonda, across a multitude of channels, platforms and cultures. As a vehicle for female self-empowerment, British Vogue said the relevance of the brand’s platform was “nearly unrivalled.”

During the session, Longoria and Lee discussed how brands can play a more active role in telling authentic stories and reducing bias. Longoria said she entered the world behind the camera because she wanted to bring greater awareness and knowledge of communities like hers. “Hollywood, media and brands get to dictate what’s happening in the world.” She continued to say that when she signed on as a spokesperson for L'Oréal and first said ‘I’m worth it’ line, she was reduced to tears. “It’s not a slogan, it’s a mantra. I’ve grown up with a lot of women around me and I was taught the importance of self-worth,” Longoria added.

Juti, an Anthropologist by training, said, “L’Oréal’s purpose is to create the beauty that moves the world. Many people think beauty is superficial but in doing so they are not looking deep enough. From Homo Erectus to the Metaverse, there is no culture or moment in history that has lived without beauty. Beauty is a path to self-confidence and dignity and it’s also a deeply social, collective need. Our role is to create beauty that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.”

Daryl Lee, CEO, McCann Worldgroup and McCann, remarked: “We could not be prouder at McCann to have created the platform of “Because I’m Worth It” over five decades ago, thanks to the talent of Ilon Specht – revolutionary for its time and even more relevant today. This brand platform endures to this day because it speaks to the higher aspiration of the brand to empower women to be recognized for their equal worth in the world through democratizing access to beauty and its power to instill confidence. We are excited that Eva Longoria will help shape the future expression of this platform as the director of one of our upcoming L’Oréal Paris campaigns.”

The session also included insights from Simpson, who offered data from the agency’s “Truth About Beauty” global study, including that 62% of people globally say they are more accepting and confident of their looks than they were five years ago and nine out of 10 people globally believe everyone has a right to change their appearance. More and more, people expect global brands such as L’Oréal to act as agents for positive social and cultural change.

“The fact that the majority of people actually feel more confident in their appearance today versus five years ago is in part due to the work that beauty brands, like L’Oréal, have done to bring more and more people into the beauty conversation and democratise access to feelings of worth,” added Simpson.

The Cannes conversation also included a discussion of Longoria’s career, most recently her feature film directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot,” based on the real-life story of a Richard Montañez, a Frito-Lay janitor who was instrumental in the creation of one of the most popular flavors of Cheetos—and was instrumental in getting the corporate world to recognize the power of the Hispanic market.