Himalaya Herbals stands with acne fighters in Indonesia through its latest song

Beauty and health brand Himalaya Herbals has unveiled a song titled "Win the Fight", which aims to break the silence over acne shaming in Indonesia. Done in collaboration with Jakarta-based creative agency, &friends, the song features Yacko, an Indonesian rapper who is also famous for her women empowerment activism, as well as musician Mardial. 

The song, which looks to give a voice to people who struggle with acne, is accompanied with the caption: "We understand that your struggle is not only against acne, but the negative stigma that comes with it. For this reason, Himalaya together with Yacko and Mardial present a song to support acne fighters and increase awareness for fighting acne stigma and acne shaming for you to always cheer you up." The song has since garnered 6,278 views, and 831 likes on Himalaya Indonesia's YouTube channel.

The song comes as Himalaya Herbals found that acne shaming is a problem in Indonesia that is not often discussed in daily conversations but has been badly impacting more and more people over the years. According to a survey conducted among over 1000 women across 10 cities in Indonesia, 77% of the respondents said they have experienced acne shaming. As many as 60% of people with acne also said it affects their social life, causing them to avoid meeting new people. The problem often leads to frustration (20%) and even depression (13%).

Thus, Himalaya looked to use the song to send a message of solidarity amongst acne fighters, capturing their emotional struggles sensitively and inspiring them to stand up against it.

Monica Joyappa, marketing manager at Himalaya Herbals, said through the campaign, the brand looks to support those battling acne problems to fight against acne naturally. "We do that by consistently providing personal care products made of natural ingredients that go through cutting-edge research processes,” she added. 

Clarissa Pranata, creative lead at &friends, said: “Growing up as a woman, the commercials on TV have always taught me that acne is a bad thing. That was one of the main reasons that made us come up with this campaign, because there’s nothing controversial about having acne." She added that the society need to have a reasonable discussion about the acne problem, and that the idea of the campaign is to address all acne fighters, telling them that there is virtue in hard work and that they are seen and supported.

&friends is a Jakarta-based creative agency launched in January 2020. It is headed by Paul Sidharta, who previously helmed the role of executive creative director of TCP-TBWA\ Indonesia in 2018. Some of &friends' other clients include Domino's Pizza, Burger King Indonesia, TVS Motor Indonesia, Phillip Morris, Asian Paints Indonesia, and other project-based clients such as Starbucks and HSBC.

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