THE MACHINE - PRESS RELEASE
April, 2018
Promotional Pathway
Press Release:
Mac Cosmetics and MIT announce “The Machine”
London, April 25th,2018 - MAC Cosmetics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are delighted to announce their collaboration in launching “The Machine”, a vending machine that will be installed on April 26th, 2018 in the London Waterloo, Kings Cross St. Pancras, London Victoria and Liverpool Street Stations.
The advanced technology of MIT meets the infinite universe of MAC Cosmetics in creating a Machine that, in just a few steps, will allow the clients to choose and create their custom-made lipstick on the spot. After pressing a few buttons to select their favourite colour among a variety of more than 200 shades of lipsticks, a revolutionary robot inside the machine will create the product in just two minutes.
Fast, sustainable and accessible are the key adjectives for The Machine, which will allow customers to have a quick retouch of their make up anywhere and at any time. The project also promotes a more sustainable way to produce fast-fashion: The Machine operates entirely with solar power, and 5% of its profits worldwide will go to research on innovative renewable energy sources.
Furthermore, on the occasion of the launch of The Machine, MAC will release ten new lipsticks shades directly inspired by the iconic London Stations. These lipsticks will only be available for purchase from vending machines, along with some others that, to this date, have been an online exclusive.
Toni Lakis, Creative Director at MAC Cosmetics, says that “at MAC Cosmetics we want to get in touch with our customers and this collaboration is the best way to show our participation in their everyday life. Helping women in their daily routines throughout the City is the first step towards this direction, and we couldn’t have chosen a better partner to help us develop such a technological and advanced Machine”. The same enthusiasm is also shown by Professor Ian Waitz, Dean of Engineering at MIT, who stated that “this is an example of how two apparently incompatible universes can work together to send a powerful message. The Machine is here to say “it’s finally time to make the future of our World a part of our present” ”.
The project is expected to have significant success and in September some smaller versions of The Machine will also be installed in public toilets, at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, and inside the Piccadilly Circus and South Kensington Underground stations.
Both Companies aim, by 2025, to export The Machine outside the UK, and to have it installed in cities across the world such as Bejing, New York, Sydney, Milan and Dubai.
Advertorial nr. 1
(editorial copy For Elle Beauty Magazine)
MAC COSMETICS LAUNCHES LIPSTICK VENDING MACHINE
And you have a chance to win a FREE lipstick!
Designed to fit into modern women’s busy life, the Machine is a revolutionary vending machine that will finally allow women to get the quick make-up retouch they need. With its service available anywhere at any time, The Machine will be the first ever vending machine to provide Mac lipsticks. Thanks to the collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it will be possible to see the lipstick being made on the spot by an artificial arm: The Machine will create a custom-made product for each customer in only two minutes. The release will be on April 26th, 2018, and on that same date, Mac Cosmetics will also remove from shops the Padma Lakshmi Lipstick, Jade Jagger Lipstick, and Nicopanda Lipstick to start selling them as vending machine exclusives. A new line of 10 lipstick will also be launched by the company and exclusively sold in vending machines: “T”, a taupe grey lipstick with a matte finish, “H”, a cherry-red lipstick with a satin finish, “E”, an emerald lipstick with a glossy finish, “M”, a red pomegranate lipstick with a satin finish, “A”, a butterscotch yellow lipstick with a glossy finish and a satin finish in the lipstick “C”, “H”, a light denim blue lipstick with a satin finish, “I”, a porcelain white lipstick with a highly pigmented texture and a glossy finish, and finally “N” and “E”, two black lipsticks, one glossy and one matte, that will react to the ph of the customer’s lips and turn into the most personal shade of red.
The Machine will be first installed in the London stations with the highest affluence of all: London Waterloo, Kings Cross St. Pancras, London Victoria and Liverpool Street Stations.
The project will then expand all over the world, and by 2015 there will be a Machine almost on every corner also in Bejing, New York, Sydney, Milan and Dubai. John Demsey, CEO of MAC Cosmetics, is confident The Machine will be “the House’s most successful collaboration since the launch of the Viva Glam campaign in 1994”. Demsey is proud to say that “as with the MAC AIDS Fund, the brand has always been committed to giving the best example to our customers. Not only The Machine is a perfect example of how much we engage in making our customers’ lives more glamorous, but also promotes sustainability, which is a fundamental value to our Company”.
Finally, thanks to an exclusive collaboration with Elle Beauty, MAC Cosmetics has opened an online competition to allow 500 lucky readers to receive a free lipstick on the opening ceremony of The Machine (scan your copy of Elle Beauty on the MAC Cosmetics site to see if you’re one of them!). The inauguration will be at the Kings Cross St.Pancras Station In London, and starting from 8:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. a selected Team from MAC Cosmetics will be giving free makeup tutorials to all customers. The event will feature Creative Director of MAC Toni Lakis, who will officiate the ribbon cutting ceremony for The Machine, and later on, all customers will have free access to the Talk “Everyday Beauty” with our Beauty Editor Victoria Jowett and MAC Makeup Artists Claire Mulleady and Terry Barber.
Advertorial nr. 2
(editorial copy For MIT Technology Review)
WITH THE MACHINE YOUR DAILY BEAUTY ROUTINE WILL BE ECO-FRIENDLIER THAN EVER
The lipsticks are from MAC Cosmetics, and the technology is MIT. What are we talking about? “The Machine”, of course.
In collaboration with MAC, our engineers have invented a vending machine that sells custom-made lipsticks. The minds behind this project are Dr Hugh Herr, leader of the biometrics research group at Media Lab currently working on developing bionic limbs, and Dr William Freeman, whose papers written in the 90s have won “test of time” awards for their ongoing contributions, and who has discovered the visual microphone.
How does The Machine work, you’ll ask? A unique robot inside The Machine, the “Mbot”, has been developed specifically to allow a precise execution of all the necessary movements to make a lipstick on the spot in only two minutes. “Mbot” is equipped with thirteen metal segments, and thirteen joints: almost double the number of sections and joints that are typically present in robotic arms. This way, the robot has thirteen degrees of movement, which will allow high levels of precision in making the lipstick. A small computer will be inside the machine and will control its movements by rotating hydraulics connected to each joint.
In addition to its robotic components, material scientist and engineer Dr Elsa Olivetti and electrical engineer and computer science professor Dr Dina Katabi have rigged an implant to make The Machine fully solar-powered, and 5% of its annual incomes will be donated to research on renewable energy sources. Both Professors are currently working at MIT, and while the former has been named a McArthur “Genius” Fellow, the latter has been working as a research scientist since 2006 and is currently developing a model to combine costs and environmental data, and aims to help producers by developing methods to cut emissions.
Professor Ian Waitz, Dean of Engineering at MIT, stated that “The Machine is an example of how two apparently incompatible universes can work together to send a powerful message. This project is very close to our values: as a state-of-the-art Centre for technology, we want to communicate with the world and, possibly, have a positive impact on it. We are confident that when people see this machine, they will become a little bit more interested in technology. If they spread the word or even research on it, it might raise consciousness on the environment: that will be our proudest achievement.
The Machine is here to say “it’s finally time to make the future of our World a part of our present” ”.
The Machine will be launched on April 26th, 2018, with the first four vending machines being installed in the London Waterloo, Kings Cross St. Pancras, London Victoria and Liverpool Street Stations. An opening ceremony will be held by a selected team of MAC Cosmetics in Kings Cross St. Pancras, while we will host the talk “Robotics and Sustainability” in the Kresge Auditorium of our Campus on the day before the release date. The lecture will be at 4:00 p.m. and all the students are invited, as well as everyone else who is interested in the subject.