4 Inspiring Ad Campaigns Worth Watching

April 4, 2014— -- quicklist: 1title: Women Reveal Themselves in Makeup Ad text: It’s hard to believe it’s just makeup.

Women reveal their true faces after undergoing a drastic transformation to hide imperfections in an inspiring new ad campaign.

One woman wipes away foundation to expose a face that’s two different colors – the result of a skin pigment condition called vitiligo. Another reveals severe acne and redness when she scrubs away her makeup.

Dermablend, the cosmetics brand behind the viral campaign, says the shocking videos are about more than selling makeup.

The idea is "to empower men and women who have overcome skin-related obstacles," said brand marketing manager Andrea Muguerza.

In another viral video, experts use Dermablend products to completely mask the skeletal tattoos that cover Canadian actor Zombie Boy’s entire body.

Keep reading for other inspiring ad campaigns.

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quicklist: 2title: Creative Convicts Write Adstext: Inmates get a shot at ad-writing, thanks to Concepting with Convicts, launched by two copywriters in San Francisco.

The goal is to prove “great ideas can come from anywhere.”

Ben Pfutzenreuter and Pat Davis use prison pen pal programs to team up with inmates, who remained anonymous in the project.

The results, while not actually used by the brands, are impressive.

Among the ads posted on the group’s website is one for Cadillac with the slogan, “Drive it like you stole it,” dreamt up by an inmate who is not, in fact, serving time for larceny. Another ad to keep kids in school shows a man in cuffs being led into a prison. “Dropping out doesn’t mean you’ll have more free time,” it reads.

The designers note the inmate earned his GED while in prison.

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quicklist: 3title: Pantene's Push for Gender Equalitytext: Hair care brand Pantene also hit the nail on the head with its "Labels Against Women" video.

It sheds light on gender bias in the workplace, juxtaposing words used to describe working women – “bossy” and “pushy,” for example – with words used to describe men in the same position: “boss” and “persuasive.”

The ad, which ran in the Philippines, has been viewed nearly 50 million times on YouTube.

Pantene’s Colleen Jay says she’s glad the video “provoked discussion and encouraged debate.”media: 21177122

quicklist: 4title: GoldieBlox Brings Girl Powertext: Little girls shun pink and princesses and pick up hard hats and hammers in GoldieBlox’s viral ad.

The toy company’s mission is to inspire young girls to become engineers and “disrupt the pink aisle,” said GoldieBlox CEO Debbie Sterling.

The original ad was set to the tune of Beastie Boys’ “Girls,” but the toy company removed the song after a legal battle with the group.

Luckily, the video’s message still shines. media: 23195765