Inside One/Size’s oily F1-driven campaign

Formula 1 cars need oil to function, but Formula 1 audiences might not want it on their faces.

At least, that’s what the beauty brand One/Size by Patrick Starr is betting on. To promote the brand’s latest product, the Oil Sucker Liquid Blotting Paper Spray, the brand pushed out a social campaign themed around an F1 pit crew and an influencer activation at the Miami Grand Prix. The campaign, which stars creators Paloma Sanchez, Toni Bravo, Kennedy Eurich, and Stephanie “Glamzilla” Santana, was made with Fred & Farid Paris and marks the first global campaign from the brand.

It’s also part of a broader push from One/Size into motorsports, Juliette Tang, president of the brand, told us.

“Performance has always been such an important part of what we do, but we’re also really obsessed with community,” Tang said. “We really approached the launch from those two perspectives…and we wanted to tie it together in a world, and that was where the world of Formula 1 came in.”

Revving up

Ahead of the product’s May 15 launch, One/Size released a series of short films to highlight everyday scenarios where oily skin could be an annoyance, including mid-dance party, during a corporate meeting, on a city commute, or after a nap. In each setting, a race pit crew, helmed by brand founder Patrick Starr, rushes in to help with the new Oil Sucker spray.

One/Size’s work with creators is shaped by the fact that it is creator-founded, Tang said, whether that is casting for campaigns or crafting invite lists for events like the Miami Grand Prix activation.

“It feels quite intimate when we have events,” Tang said. “It feels like a group of people coming together and reuniting and like friends and family.”

At the Miami Grand Prix event, One/Size invited both local creator talent and out-of-town influencers to a branded space on a course turn from which to experience the race. The event served as a stage to demonstrate the new product’s features, which Tang said were particularly suited to the Miami setting.

“It was 85 degrees that weekend, and it was quite humid, as Miami can be in May,” she said. “So it was the perfect condition for us to really show our community, like, ‘Hey, look at what this product can do.’”

The F1 race is just one way One/Size is getting involved in the world of motorsports. The brand previously sponsored Nascar driver Toni Breidinger, who wore the new product while racing in a Nascar triple-header earlier this month. And as brands and retailers like Charlotte Tilbury and Sephora get more involved with F1 Academy, the women’s racing championship, motorsports continue to be an attractive arena for beauty brands to reach new and engaged audiences.

“It’s a world that a lot of people care immensely about, so there’s a real emotional element to it,” Tang said. “But like all sports, there’s also storytelling, and then there’s performance, and I think all of those aspects are universally relevant for people. Even if you might not be a huge Formula 1 fan, you can’t help but be in awe of what these cars and these drivers are able to do.”

Team sport

Working with Fred & Farid Paris, an agency whose global offices have previously worked with Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty and luxury brands like Longchamp and Louis Vuitton, was key to landing on the F1-driven campaign concept, Tang said.

“We really were not anticipating doing a really big global campaign,” Tang said, noting that previous campaigns have largely been ideated and produced in-house. “Where an agency comes in is, they’re able to really help you see possibilities beyond what you might imagine.”

As One/Size looks to the future, Tang said the brand is eager to continue to support motorsports and sponsor more drivers, especially as F1’s popularity grows in the US.

“I have caught the bug,” Tang said. “I’m excited to go see more races. I do want to travel and see more, and I feel like this is going to be a trend that we see here in the United States, where Formula 1 is starting to hit a really important inflection point in the greater culture.”