Nails.INC
Nailing Life
The Challenge
Modern beauty culture piles on pressure, telling women to be “everything, all at once” - flawlessly.
Nails.INC saw the truth: life is already full of layers. Some you love, others you could do without.
The company's founder developed a new product called 'It's Topless' as a one-step, 4-in-1 gel-like polish that simplifies beauty without compromise — treatment, base coat, colour, and top coat in one layer.
1000heads used this radical product innovation to spark a cultural conversation, challenging impossible beauty standards and reframing nail care as self-care.
#NailingLife became a rallying cry.
The campaign's goals:
- Launch 'It's Topless' as a breakthrough beauty innovation, driving awareness, engagement, and sales across UK, US, and Canada.
- Reframe nail polish from an aesthetic luxury to a symbol of reclaiming time and resisting perfection pressures.
- Embed Nails.INC in broader cultural and lifestyle conversations beyond beauty enthusiasts.
- Achieve sales targets in key retailers to ensure continued product listing and prime shelf space.
Our Solution
We led with messy, in-motion, real-life moments: school runs, Zoom calls, last-minute plans — where “It's Topless” fits effortlessly. No perfection, just polish. Creators known for honesty over gloss showed the product in context, while memes, TikTok-native edits, and stripped-back visuals kept it relatable and platform-first.
The campaign spanned the UK, US, and Canada, appearing everywhere from Instagram Reels to Times Square. Results spoke volumes: 843.2M reach, $3.5M sales, +34% brand searches, 90% positive sentiment, and SKUs selling out across Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Superdrug.
We didn't just sell a product — we built a movement. #NailingLife became shorthand for living life imperfectly but confidently, embedding Nails.INC into cultural conversation and redefining beauty marketing in a declining category.
Social listening and research revealed our audience — time-poor, multi-tasking women — wanted efficiency without compromise. They were overwhelmed by life's layers and societal perfectionism. Our core truth: the same beauty rituals that can feel like “another layer of pressure” could become acts of self-care if reframed with empathy.
We positioned “It's Topless” as the perfect fit for real life: a multi-functional, one-step polish that saves time without sacrificing style. Our campaign heart: #NailingLife — a movement celebrating the messy, imperfect, busy reality our audience lives every day.
Implementation
Instead of aspirational perfection, we showcased candid, chaotic, joyful moments. School runs, video calls, last-minute plans — each scene anchored the product as the quick, confidence-boosting layer you do want in your life. Tone: witty, relatable, culturally fluent. Formats: TikTok trends, Instagram Reels, UGC-style creator content, and memes.
Platform-centric thinking delivered a feed-friendly campaign:
- TikTok: Fast cuts, trending audio, in-app overlays.
- Instagram: Stripped-back aesthetic, inspirational tone, and memes.
- Cross-platform: Ongoing UGC-style demos to cement everyday utility.
- Creator-led storytelling injected scale and authenticity.
We partnered with disruptive beauty creators who value honesty over perfection, delivering authentic, story-led integrations of 'It's Topless' into their day. For example, a creator squeezing in a mani between meetings; another painting nails in the car mid-chaos.
Social-first creative injected the campaign with relatable moments:
- Native graphics, minimal retouching, clean framing of hands.
- Copy fused humour with empathy: “Because you don't need another layer of pressure.”
- Memes and quick-fire relatable content for shareability.
- Real-life context always came before product glamour shots.
Impact
The #NailingLife campaign now exists as an ongoing brand platform, embedding Nails.INC deeper into identity-led lifestyle conversations and reinforcing authenticity in beauty.
The 'It's Topless' product range sold out at Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Superdrug - securing future shelf-space for the range at key retailers.
The Drum Awards
🥇 Gold for Social in the Fashion, Beauty & Luxury category
BIMA Awards
🥈 Silver for Most Innovative Use of Social
The 1000heads team were brilliant partners on the It’s Topless campaign. From the outset, they combined sharp strategic thinking with real creative confidence, using their unique approach to social listening to uncover genuine audience insight and shape a highly relevant campaign. They took the time to truly understand our product innovation and our brand, helping us bring something genuinely new to market in a way that felt bold, culturally relevant, and true to the Nails.INC DNA. It was a highly collaborative process and a partnership we genuinely valued.