0% hype, 100% effective

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 Zs 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.