Shampoohotel is taking travel tropes to a category typically dominated by utility and functional benefits.

The new hair and body care brand is aiming aim to put users in a vacation frame of mind by tying its products specific and exotic geographic locations.

Playful, escapist creative by agency partner Juliet features cheeky room-service setups and towel-wrapped glamour shots that lean into surreal, stylized and self-aware hotel aesthetics.

“We started with how it should feel, not just what it does,” says Anita Singh, associate creative director Juliet, telling strategy that Shampoohotel is a “beauty brand dressed as a destination. Or maybe it’s the other way around.”

While much messaging in the category zeroes in on ingredients and efficacy, Juliet went to Miami, Paris, Rio and Marrakesh to create conditions for an “emotional escape.”

Drawing from the essence of those destinations, the brand invites users to check into their chosen mood through shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion. Messaging alludes to the brand name with the promise of “a five-star escape for your hair and body.”

Singh says the brand is designed “as a world you can keep checking into for years to come” and is being built around consistent, multi-year platforms.

“We’re talking to the new wave of beauty lovers – Gen Z and younger millennial,” says Mariam Alqasim, associate creative director at Juliet. “They care about performance, but they shop with their gut. It has to work, but it also has to spark something.”

Juliet has also worked for clients such as Mielle Organics and Moroccanoil, two strong brands with loyal followings rooted in beauty storytelling that goes beyond the product.

Shampoohotel is as being positioned as an everyday indulgence in comparison to premium brands such as Sephora and is available online and at approximately 500 Ulta Beauty locations across the U.S.

The brand launched in New York late last month through wild postings and promotional presence on social and digital media. Media was handled in-house by the client team.

Juliet has been part of the Shampoohotel journey going back to the brand idea’s beginnings about three years ago. The shop followed along with the creation of the product then stepped in to build the brand from story to identity to launch.