09.30.23
Olaplex is one of the most "duped" products on TikTok—so the brand wanted in on that conversation to promote the fact that it single-handedly created the hair care industry's bond-building category with its one-of-a-kind technology with over 160 patents.
TikTok creators are posting content generating 30.4M views of the hashtag #OLAPLEXDUPE, so the brand launched its own "dupe"—Oladupe.
The campaign aims to spread the word that with its patents, unique ingredients, bond-building technology, and effective results, it is literally impossible to 'dupe' Olaplex products. The #OLADUPE hashtag has racked up over 5.5 million views in just a few days.
In related news, Mintel reports that 74% of makeup users are open to affordable dupes.
Olaplex Joins the Convo—to Say It is 'Undupable'
Olaplex says it was compelled to join the narrative around dupe culture with its playful campaign led by education. Using social listening tools, the brand identified how often it was being duped and launched Oladupe to show consumers that the only company that could actually dupe Olaplex is itself."Olaplex is the real deal, a brand that is truly 'undupable,' and the foundation of this is our underlying technology, which is peerless in the industry," said JuE Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Olaplex.
The fictitious Oladupe launched with an unboxing campaign featuring over 100 earned and paid influencers—and there are more to come, the brand says.
While the Oladupe product's label looked very similar to Olaplex, it was clearly marked OLADUPÉ No. 160 as an homage to the brand's 160 patents.
Consumers were driven to Oladupe.com, where the first 160 people to register were sent a free bottle of Oladupe, which was actually a bottle of Olaplex No. 3, explaining the joke.
Later, the brand revealed that Oladupe was a dupe all along. The influencers and professionals later shared that Oladupe No. 160 was actually the blockbuster Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector all along.