SK-II: Timelines by Forsman & Bodenfors

Veteran American journalist Katie Couric is the face of a new campaign by Japanese skincare brand SK-II.

Called “Timelines” and created Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore, the campaign is a four-part documentary that goes in-depth into sensitive topics like marriage pressure and societal expectations that women face in Asia Pacific and the United States.

In New York, Couric talks to Maluca, a musician and her mother Liz, to explore the generational shift that has happened and if a plan or a dream is more important to them.

Couric then meets fashion buyer Maina and her mother and grandmother, Yumiko and Sahako in Tokyo, Japan, to explore what it means to be marriageable in a country with a tradition of conformity.

She then crosses over to Shanghai to Chun Xia, an actress and SK-II global brand ambassador, and her childhood best friend, Dan Hua. Couric finds out from them that they different expectations in life, even though they grew up together.

At her final stop in Seoul, Couric meets Nara, an artist and influencer, and her mother, Soon, who live in two different worlds. She finds out how they try to navigate their way in a country that is rapidly changing but grappling with traditional values.

SK-II hopes that these stories will be able to inspire women around the world to draw their own timelines and celebrate that destiny is a matter of choice, instead of living a life according to society’s expectations of them.