Venus worked with digital designer Nicole Cuddihy to co-create the new avatar designs to promote its new Skinclusive summer product line and help better reflect the diversity of real people’s skin.

The collection will increase the number of skin-diverse avatars available on Animal Crossing from to include eight different tones and 19 different skin types. In total, there are 250 design combinations available—including those that include vitiligo, tattoos, psoriasis, stretch marks, cellulite and prosthetic limbs.

The activity forms part of the brand’s broader “My Skin. My Way.” campaign and will be supported by a live Animal Crossing “Skinclusive Summer Social” event on YouTube Aug. 31.

“In a world where there are so many explicit and implicit rules on how women should show or feel about their skin, skin-inclusivity and positive representation matters,” said Anthony van Dijk, senior brand director of Venus North America.

Nicole Cuddihy added: “While momentum for diversity in design is building, there are many areas where progress feels slow. The fact that I could add scars and wrinkles to warriors or outlaws, but not characters in less combat-driven games felt discouraging. With these designs, I hope that all women in Animal Crossing can find comfort and representation in this carefully developed collection.”

Animal Crossing has proven a popular playground for brand marketers, especially as opportunities for in-person experiential events evaporated with the arrival of Covid-19.

Most recently, Cottonelle worked with rapper T-Pain to promote the toilet paper brand via downloadable wallpapers.