The Ordinary: The Periodic Fable

The playWhat they did

What most think~~Most beauty brands think big words like "medical grade" sell the jar.~~

What this play showedThe Ordinary bet that telling the truth about those words is the better sell.

The Ordinary turned 49 beauty marketing buzzwords, like "medical grade" and "eternal youth", into a fake periodic table of elements. A dystopian film shows hypnotised students chanting the words and acting out viral skincare trends like ice rolling, until one student rips off a blindfold. Outdoor ads, influencers in the UK, US and Canada, and a website where you click each word to see why it misleads carried it.

The tapeWhy it worked

1
Flip the belief
The tape
More than half of UK skincare shoppers trust a product more when it says "luxury". The Ordinary flipped it: the fancy word is the warning sign.
Why it works
You don't win by shouting louder than the fancy words. You hand people a new way to see them, and they can't unsee it.
Steal it
List three words your industry uses to sound expensive. Post one plain line on what each really means.
2
Clear wins
The tape
A periodic table. Everybody saw one in school. One tile, one buzzword, one reason it misleads.
Why it works
A shape people already know does half your explaining for you.
Steal it
Put your message in a format your customers already know: a menu, a report card, a receipt.
3
Make 'em feel seen
The tape
The film shows students acting out the viral trends. Ice rolling. If you've tried one, that's you up there.
Why it works
The feeling is a wince: that's me. The reason comes next: a page that tells you why each word misleads. Nobody scrolls past their own habit.
Steal it
Show the habit your customers fell for, then show them the way out. Laugh with them, never at them.

And listen to how they said it. "Consumers have the right to know exactly what they're purchasing." That's their vice-president of brand. No maybe.

FinalThe score

Cannes Lions 2026: Grand Prix, Health & Wellness Lions
D&AD 2026: Black Pencil, Art Direction

No sales or traffic results published in the sources. I won't guess them.

Your shiftYour rink

A neighbourhood bakery. Make a one-page table of five words shoppers see on supermarket loaves, like "artisan" and "all natural", with one plain line on what each really tells you. Pin it by the till and send it to your regulars on WhatsApp (or Zalo in Vietnam). This week's first step: pick the five words and write one honest sentence for each. Keep it about words, never a named rival.

Coach LyCoach's Take

1st line: AI can run it AI collects the words, writes why each one misleads and designs the table in an afternoon. You check every claim. The nerve to call out your own industry is the one part it can't do for you.

My Coach's Take is on the wayI haven't made my reel for this play yet. For now, watch the campaign film at the top, and read my call below.

The No-Agency Playbook

Coach's call: 1st line: AI can run it

The Ordinary called out its own industry's empty buzzwords with a fake periodic table. I'd have AI collect the jargon in your category, fact-check every word and design your own table in an afternoon, no six-week strategy phase needed. You bring the nerve, and you keep it about words, never about named rivals.
Coach Ly

Quick tipYou don't need all these tools to start. Claude finds the buzzwords in your category and writes why each one misleads, and Higgsfield makes the table and the deadpan film. You check every claim and its source, and call out words, never brands.

CJargon Desk LWJargon Hunt RWFact Check FTable LDFilm RDWord Page DMedia GScoreboard

You on the bench: the owner, or your one-person marketing team. You make the calls.

AI runs it
AI drafts, you approve
You or a freelancer

C
Captain · orchestratorJargon Desk
AI drafts, you approve
Runs the research, the table, the page and the posts as one plan and holds anything public for your sign-off.
Your call: You approve the final word list and everything public.
- Visual AI agent workflows that you can host on your own servers
- Careful long-form reasoning and writing that keeps brand context in Projects
LW
Left wing · agent 1Jargon Hunt
AI runs it
Collects the buzzwords your category uses on product pages, ads and reviews.
- Answers with cited web sources you can click and check
- Works across Google Workspace, Maps and YouTube from one chat
RW
Right wing · agent 2Fact Check
AI drafts, you approve
Writes a plain reason why each word misleads, with a source for every claim.
Your call: You check every claim. Call out words, never named brands.
- Careful long-form reasoning and writing that keeps brand context in Projects
- Answers with cited web sources you can click and check
F
Forward · agent 3Table
AI runs it
Designs the table in your colours, one tile per word.
Your call: You give it a final look.
- Readable, accurate text and typography inside generated images
- Brand kits and templates let non-designers make on-brand assets quickly
LD
Left D · agent 4Film
AI drafts, you approve
Makes a short, deadpan classroom-style film about the words.
Your call: You approve the script and the cut.
- Many leading video and image models plus ready-made ad presets
- Realistic motion with native audio, plus an agent canvas for storyboards
- Natural-sounding voiceover in many languages, Vietnamese included
RD
Right D · agent 5Word Page
AI runs it
Publishes a page with one short entry per word and why it misleads.
- Store builder with Sidekick, an AI assistant that acts inside your admin
D
Defence · agent 6Media
AI drafts, you approve
Puts the table and the film in front of people who shop your category.
Your call: You set a daily cap the agent cannot go over.
- AI sets audience, placements and budget across Facebook and Instagram
- Automates TikTok targeting, bidding and budget, now including search ads
G
Goalie · agent 7Scoreboard
AI runs it
Tracks shares, page visits and which words people click most.
Your call: Read it Monday with your coffee.
- Free web and app analytics with machine-learning forecasts of behaviour
- Shareable drag-and-drop dashboards over Google and BigQuery data

SourcesRead more

Facts checked on 2026-10-15. The film and articles belong to their owners.

The Ordinary The Periodic Fable

Flip the belief

Clear wins

Make 'em feel seen