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Sephora casts Seth Rogen as a novice holiday gifter for We All Sephora with a Sethphora takeover at The Grove
Key Takeaways
Sephora has signed actor, writer and director Seth Rogen as the star of We All Sephora, its 2026 holiday campaign for the US and Canada.
In the 54 second film, directed by Jason Woliner and created with GUT New York, Rogen shops for a setting spray, a fragrance and an LED face mask with help from a Sephora Beauty Advisor.
Ahead of the launch, Sephora temporarily renamed its store at The Grove in Los Angeles as "Sethphora", with Rogen's name on the storefront.
The campaign rolls out from 29 October across connected TV, linear TV, streaming and social, and Rogen's curated gift picks can be bought on Sephora.com and the Sephora App.
Sephora has handed its holiday campaign to somebody who cheerfully admits he has no idea what he is doing in a beauty aisle, as the retailer has cast Seth Rogen as the star of We All Sephora, its new US and Canada holiday campaign. Announced on 26 October 2026, the campaign sees Rogen play an unexpected beauty shopper who arrives at Sephora looking for presents for the people in his life, before a Beauty Advisor steers him towards gifts for his producer, his cousin and his mother. The premise is that anyone can give a beautiful gift, even somebody who could not tell a setting spray from a fragrance mist, which makes Rogen a deliberately unlikely guide for a category that many shoppers find intimidating.
The film was directed by Jason Woliner, the creator of the sketch comedy show Human Giant, and developed with GUT New York, which has taken over Sephora's holiday advertising after several years with another agency. Before anybody had seen the ad, the retailer also gave Los Angeles a small puzzle to solve, since its store at The Grove briefly appeared to belong to Rogen himself. The full campaign arrives today on the 29th October, giving Sephora almost two months of gifting season in which to persuade nervous shoppers that a beauty present does not require any expertise at all.
Sephora's We All Sephora film follows Seth Rogen buying a setting spray, a fragrance and an LED mask
The 54 second spot, which went up on Sephora's YouTube channel on 26 October, opens in a store lined with the brand's black and white stripes as Rogen approaches an advisor and confesses, "I need some amazing beauty gifts for my people and I have no idea what I'm doing." She replies, "I got you", and the film then follows him through a series of small misadventures, beginning with Rogen being caught sniffing a tester and trying to talk his way out of it. He picks up a setting spray for his producer and tries it on his neck, while his attempt to buy his cousin what he believes are face stickers ends when the advisor points out that they are pimple patches, so the cousin receives a fragrance instead.
The emotional payoff comes with his mother, who wants something "really special, but different", and the advisor recommends an LED face mask that leads to a final scene of Rogen and his mum on the sofa at home, both glowing red. Rogen's verdict that "We look pretty cool".
That storefront was more than a piece of set dressing, as the week before the announcement Sephora staged a guerrilla stunt in Los Angeles that hung a Sethphora facade on the front of its store at The Grove. Merging the retailer's name with Rogen's first name gave passers by a teaser to photograph and share, and it meant the campaign had a real world presence before the ad itself had been released.
Rogen described the appeal in suitably practical terms, saying that "Holiday gifting can be stressful, so anything that makes it easier is a win in my book." Zena Arnold, chief marketing officer of Sephora US, said that "Seth is the perfect partner because he brings a warmth, curiosity and humor that makes beauty feel approachable and fun," and she has framed the campaign as a way of turning the pressure of finding presents into the joy of discovery. Sam Bennett, SVP of Brand, Creative, Experience & Insights at Sephora, added that "At Sephora, we believe the best gifts are the ones that make people feel seen," while Rogen's curated picks are available on Sephora.com and the Sephora App so that viewers can shop his list once the ad has finished.
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