Things We Saw Today: Animal Crossing Is Partnering With Gillette Venus to Make the Game More “Skinclusive”

A few days ago, I scrolled past a targeted ad on Twitter. The ad was for the shaving company Gillette Venus and featured Animal Crossing player characters. I didn’t think much of it at first, as brands using the game to advertise isn’t anything new.

As it turns out, this was a lot more than a simple ad. Gillette Venus has partnered with the game to make it, as they’ve branded the endeavor, “skinclusive.” Animal Crossing allows you to customize your character, though, as with most games, the choices are fairly limited. (Although I do love that things like hairstyles and dress are not confined by gender.)

What Gillette Venus has done is created a bunch of design codes for a variety of skin types, including freckles, acne, psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and more. There are also codes for body-related things like curves, surgery scars, stretch marks, burns, and cellulite. In all, there are 19 skin types and eight skin tones, totalling 264 possible new designs. You can see the designs in the Lookbook put together by the brand.

Designer Nicole Cuddihy writes:

As I designed, I thought of those in my own life who represent each skin type. I wanted to create designs I knew they would cherish– a bright dress for my confident friend who never hides her acne, a fashionable look for my artistic friend with a deep scar, and a feminine lacy top for my courageous aunt who underwent a mastectomy. I am incredibly excited to bring you this collection, in partnership with Venus.

This sort of detail was already something players had the option to do, as we can design patterns as face paint. But there’s something very emboldening about having your own specific skin design created for you, especially on such a mass level. Many of the designs GV has created are things most of us would think of as “flaws” in ourselves. Sure, this is a product tie-in and there’s always reason to be cynical of that but honestly, having a company create these designs of those “flaws” because they actually see them as marketable can feel super empowering (in pretty much the only way capitalism can be empowering).

Have you done any skin-related custom designs? Will you be using Gillette Venus’s? Show us those screengrabs in the comments! (via Pajiba)

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• Yayyyyyyyy:
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  I’m writing a book with @ABRAMSbooks pic.twitter.com/O0MnAlTheU

  — ziwe (@ziwe) August 12, 2020

• And on the flip side, oh noooooo:
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  Now this is why students should feel pumped about going back to school. https://t.co/igxptfyMDl

  — Kashana (@kashanacauley) August 12, 2020

• Vulture asked a gynecologist about “WAP.” (via Vulture)
• This New Zealand city has an official wizard and it’s a paid position. (via CNN)
• Please make this real and please let me have it:
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  I’ve never wanted anything to be more real in my entire life #Fvck2020 #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/QJ79qJrDmN

  — Tara Dublin Doesn’t Want You to Get Sick 😷 (@taradublinrocks) August 12, 2020

What did you all see out there on this whatever day it is?

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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