shady beauty
world vision enough
‘rug-pulling’ gen-z with a fake make-up brand with a real message
the case study
What looks like beauty content.
What it actually reveals is darker.
we crafted a completely fake make-up brand for world vision that carried a very real message
UN-MUTE FOR SOUND
BLACK MIRROR STYLE DYSTOPIA MEETS 90’S CLEARASIL AESTHETIC
We introduced a darker, Black Mirror-inspired twist which is woven into the creative through glitching dark imagery and clever ad copy. The footage feels curious, dark and uneasy conveying the truth, underneath the glamour.
POSING AS AN ENTIRELY FAKE BRAND WE LANDED REAL FANS
We lured over 5000 real fans to our page with a base of 13,000 cheap bots to prove authority in this space is easily ‘earned’. This helped land the rug pull at a deeper level.
the breakdown
overview
Cruelty-free doesn’t always mean child-labour free.
Behind the glow of beauty products is an uncomfortable truth. Common cosmetic ingredients including palm oil, cocoa, vanilla, shea, mica and copper are all linked to child labour.
As demand for natural and cruelty-free cosmetics rises, many consumers don’t realise these labels say nothing about human rights. With the global beauty market racing towards $716bn, growth cannot come at the cost of a child’s education, health or life.
World Vision challenged Thumbstoppers to land this message with Gen Z in a crowded, fast-moving feed.
Using digital video, influencer seeding and guerrilla outdoor, we hijacked beauty content habits. Beauty audiences already watch longer to see the final look. If we could stop the scroll, we could educate.
execution
INTRODUCING SHADY BEAUTY
A bold, entirely fake Gen-Z cosmetics brand imagined by Thumbstoppers.
Shady Beauty sold cheap, high-performance makeup while openly prioritising profit over child welfare. The point was simple: if brands don’t say where ingredients come from, consumers assume the worst never happens.
We built a full fake brand from scratch. Products. Packaging. Ads. Tone. Audience.
How it worked
Fake authority: Bought 13,000 low-quality fake followers to show how easily trust can be manufactured.
Hero film: A Black-Mirror-style video made using AI, stock and 3D to stop the scroll and unsettle viewers.
Real media spend: Ran genuine paid ads from the fake account, revealing World Vision only at the end.
Real traction: 5,000 real beauty fans followed the fake brand in just 7 days.
Guerrilla disruption: Influencers questioned the brand publicly while we trolled comments as Shady Beauty.
Street takeover: Fly-posted Shoreditch and central London, reaching an estimated 3 million people.
The result forced audiences to look twice and question what’s really behind the products in their makeup bag.
outcome
AVERAGE CUMULATIVE PERFORMANCE
REACH
TARGET: 500,000 / ACHIEVED: 684,902
REACTIONS
TARGET: 5000 / ACHIEVED: 8,076
NEW (REAL) FOLLOWERS FOR FAKE BRAND PROVING THE INFLUENCE WE SOUGHT TO CHANGE
TARGET: EST. 1000 / ACHIEVED: 5000+
COMPLETED VIEWS OF OUR 2 MINUTE VIDEO (PAID AND ORGANIC)
TARGET: 500K COMPLETED VIEWS / ACHIEVED: 1.2 MILLION
THROUGH PLAYS
TARGET: 10% / ACHIEVED: 40%
NOTE: Our video is over 1 minute long.
LONDON GUERILLA FLYPOSTING FOOTFALL (14 DAYS)
TARGET: NA / ACHIEVED: Est. 2.5-3M across the city.
creatiive, creators, and guerilla outdoor all helped sell the lie and set up the fall...
Outdoor posters designed to build authority
GUERRILLA FLY POSTING ACROSS HIGH FOOTFALL AREAS OF EAST LONDON
‘TRICKY’ ALWAYS ON CONTENT MADE FOR THE FEED