Quick summary
- Seth Rogen stars in Sephora’s holiday campaign, “We All Sephora”, made by agency GUT New York.
- The ad follows Rogen as he shops for gifts and learns that the “stickers” he picks up are pimple patches.
- It is rolling out across connected TV, linear television, streaming and social, according to MediaPost.
- Separately, Martin Scorsese has again joked that Rogen’s film The Interview killed his planned Cleopatra movie.
Seth Rogen has become the face of Sephora’s holiday push, in a campaign that treats beauty shopping as a comedy of errors for people who know nothing about it. The spot, reported by MediaPost on 2 November (US time), is also getting attention for a Los Angeles stunt that briefly renamed a store “Sethphora”.
What the Seth Rogen Sephora campaign shows
According to Men’s Journal, quoted by MediaPost, the video opens with Rogen walking into Sephora to find presents for the people in his life. A Sephora Beauty Advisor guides him through skincare, fragrance, makeup and hair care, and he brings his familiar comic energy along.
One gag stands out. Rogen picks up some “stickers” and is told they are actually pimple patches. The campaign is called “We All Sephora” and was created by GUT New York.
Why Sephora chose a beauty novice
The target is deliberate. Retail Dive, also quoted by MediaPost, reports that Sephora built the holiday work around gift-givers who are new to beauty and want the guesswork taken out. It does not aim at the in-the-know shoppers who already form its core base.
Retail Dive says Rogen was hired for his sense of humour and an approachable everyman quality. The campaign also pushes in-store beauty advisers and includes a product list curated by the actor on Sephora’s app and website.
The Sethphora takeover in Los Angeles
Sephora also staged a “Sethphora” activation. LA Mag, as cited by MediaPost, says shoppers at the Sephora store at The Grove got an early look when the facade changed for a short time, with the “Se” in Sephora swapped for “Seth”.
The money behind it
The timing matters to retailers. MediaPost cites Brand Innovators as saying the National Retail Federation expects November and December retail sales to reach $1.013 trillion, 4.2% above 2025. The same report says Sephora took in nearly US$9 billion in US retail sales across full-year 2025, with the fourth quarter a key period.
Scorsese’s Cleopatra joke resurfaces
Rogen is also in the news for a very different reason. In an interview with his daughter Francesca for Tribeca’s Crafty series, Scorsese said he was once going to direct a Cleopatra film with Angelina Jolie, with Eric Roth’s script ready, according to BroBible.
“They made fun of [Kim Jong Un], and he got mad and blew up everybody at Columbia,” Scorsese said, adding: “Seth Rogen, right?”
The link is the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, which followed the release of Rogen’s comedy The Interview. BroBible notes the FBI attributed the attack to the North Korean government. Leaked emails included producer Scott Rudin’s criticism of Jolie and worries about a possible $180 million budget.
BroBible is clear that Rogen was not responsible for the hack or the cancellation. The Independent reports that Columbia later tried to revive the film with screenwriter David Scarpa and director Denis Villeneuve, but it never entered production. The two men did later work together on Apple TV’s The Studio, where Scorsese plays a fictionalised version of himself. For more, see our earlier piece, Scorsese Blames Seth Rogen for Sinking His Cleopatra Film.
What happens next
The Sephora campaign is just starting its run across television, streaming and social, and the retail season it targets covers the next two months. On screen, BroBible says season two of The Studio will likely return early next year, and Rogen’s next starring role is the comedy Babies. Scorsese’s next film, What Happens at Night, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, is due next year. You can follow all of it on our Seth Rogen page, or browse Celebrities.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Seth Rogen Sephora campaign called?
It is called “We All Sephora”. GUT New York created it, and it is rolling out across connected TV, linear television, streaming and social.
What happens in the ad?
Rogen shops for gifts with help from a Sephora Beauty Advisor and discovers that the “stickers” he picked up are pimple patches, according to MediaPost.
Did Seth Rogen cancel Scorsese’s Cleopatra film?
No. Scorsese joked about it, but BroBible says Rogen was not responsible for the 2014 hack or for the project’s collapse.
