E.l.f. Beauty is stepping into the wild for its latest campaign, chronicling the frenzied enthusiasm of its shoppers for product launches with an Animal Planet-style ad that marks the rollout of its latest E.l.f. Skin Bronzing Drops.
“Peculiar Behavior” debuted June 10 with a two-minute spot starring British actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who portrays a binocular-touting anthropologist that takes to the “field” to investigate the behavior of E.l.f. fans. The effort continues E.l.f.’s push into entertainment-led marketing, particularly inside digital and TV, and arrives as the marketer reports explosive sales growth. The strategy also demonstrates how the cosemetics brand leverages social listening to tell creative.
“It was really essential for us to harness what our community was sharing with us to really create something that our community was desiring,” said Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f. Beauty. “The indisputable fact that this product has the ability to be transformative, but additionally is so addictive and so entertaining, and folks should not shy about how they find it irresistible … that’s what we desired to capture in a TV spot.”
The documentary-style video kicks off with Jamil explaining that the release of E.l.f. Skin’s Bronzing Drops has “created some peculiar behavior amongst Homo sapiens” before taking viewers to watch these individuals of their natural habitat. Among the sights is a teen attempting to swipe the serum from her sister’s room, a crowded airport where the only travelers who look fresh are those wearing the product and a house office where a distant worker relies on her Bronzing Drops to cover that she hasn’t left her house in days.
The spot ends with Jamil pulling out her own bottle of Bronzing Drops, which causes a frenzy, before a line appears that reads “E.l.f. Skin Bronzing Drops. Just $12. Go Wild.” Madwell Founder and Chief Creative Officer Chris Sojka directed the business, which can air on major streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.
While the campaign’s message — that E.l.f. fans are eager for any latest product from the company — may very well be taken broadly, it was tailored to capture consumer excitement for Bronzing Drops, specifically. The tinted serum had already been in talks for E.l.f., nevertheless it wasn’t until CEO Tarang Amin was participating in a TikTok Live with the community that the team realized the sheer amount of demand expressed for the product, in response to Lam. E.l.f. has been an innovator on TikTok and infrequently taps into the channel for its marketing.
“The TikTok Live ended — it was civil, there have been a variety of requests for it — [Amin] walked over to the product development area in Oakland … where our headquarters is, and he asked for bronzing drops,” Lam said.
The marketer also let the community inform the product’s formula, ensuring that it debuted in three shades and was crammed with good-for-you ingredients like antioxidants. E.l.f. went on to soft launch the offering to members of its Beauty Squad loyalty program, which has amassed about 5 million members. A teaser campaign on social media highlighted a few of the crazier comments the brand received requesting the Bronzing Drops, like guarantees of marriage and tears of joy.
After the initial unveiling received positive feedback, E.l.f. sought to maintain the momentum going while maintaining the community-led focus, driving the brand to create “Peculiar Behavior,” a campaign contributing to a launch effort that warranted “a little bit bit more love,” Lam said.
“We’ve at all times been listening and serving our community,” Lam said. “We are a brand that’s for the people, by the people, with the people, and that signifies that in some ways, a variety of the the reason why our community involves us is because they know we are going to listen, and we see those comments.”
“There are a variety of brands which might be listening, don’t get me improper, but we take motion and we take it fast,” the exec continued.
Eyeing entertainment
E.l.f.’s latest campaign arrives following strong earnings, with net sales jumping 77% 12 months over 12 months in fiscal 2024 to $1.02 billion. Fiscal Q4 also marked the brand’s twenty first consecutive quarter of net sales growth. In response, the marketer increased marketing spending to 25% of net sales in fiscal 2024, a major boost from 7% of net sales five years ago.
“We have a really significant, strong ROI, and it continues to be very healthy and robust, and in consequence of that our marketing and digital spend has shifted with that growth,” Lam said.
Among its marketing investments has been a concentrate on entertainment, as seen through several moves, including the brand’s first national Super Bowl ad for this 12 months’s big game. While E.l.f. is usually regarded for its social media muscle, expanding into the TV and digital realms has been key to making sure the brand meets consumers where they’re, Lam said.
“We go where our community is, so sometimes it’s less about the platform, and it’s more about where we expect our community is leaning into,” Lam said. “Where are they finding their content? Where are they finding their news? Where are they finding their trends?”
E.l.f. also recently teamed with fellow disruptor Liquid Death on a goth-themed Corpse Paint makeup collection that was promoted alongside a comedic spot riffing on the popular get-ready-with-me video genre. The collection sold out in 45 minutes and generated over 12 billion impressions. Notably, 68% of purchasers were latest to the brand, Lam said.
“More than anything, I believe [the partnership] just ignited the sense of entertainment,” Lam said. “We were capable of capture an audience that we had never captured before, and we let our imagination go wild on this one, identical to we did with ‘Peculiar Behavior.’”
While E.l.f. has developed a presence on platforms like TikTok which might be favored by young consumers, Lam said that the company tries to take an open view on the demographics it engages. E.l.f.’s media strategy follows where its products are in demand as the brand attempts to avoid putting its community in a box, an approach that has helped shore up a broad appeal.
“We have everyone from boomers all the method to Gen Alpha, and the ability for us to have the opportunity to appeal to all these demographics actually lives true to who we’re,” Lam said. “We’ve sought out to make the better of beauty accessible to each eye, lip and face, and that’s exactly what we’ve done with our brand over the last two, three, 4 years.”
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