Last year, E.l.f. Beauty made a splash, literally, casting Jennifer Coolidge as a dolphin for its first-ever Super Bowl commercial. This year, the brand is back for more, running a national commercial instead of a regional ad and enlisting a stacked cast. It includes Judge Judy, AKA, Judith Sheindlin; Meghan Trainor; Benito Skinner, known to his online community as BennyDrama; “Suits” stars Gina Torres, Rick Hoffman and Sarah Rafferty; “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Heidi N Closet; and “Jury Duty” star Ronald Gladden, among others.
The commercial plays with the idea of being sentenced to glowy skin with the use of E.l.f. Beauty’s hero product — its $14 Halo Glow Liquid Filter — after overpaying for pricy makeup. Halo Glow was the brand’s best-seller in 2023. This ad comes on the heels of the brand’s recent short film, “Cosmetic Criminals,” which also riffed on the popularity of true crime.
The genesis for the ad was E.l.f.’s community, like everything the brand does, said CMO Kory Marchisotto. “Every piece of content we put out is a universal truth that has come directly from our community.” In this case, the starting point was the community’s love for Halo Glow, specifically its ability to provide “exceptionally glowy skin” at an affordable price point, Marchisotto said. E.l.f. customers’ current obsession with shows like “Suits” and “Jury Duty” was the other driving factor. In 2023, “Suits” broke streaming records set by “The Office,” becoming the most-streamed show ever.
Last year, E.l.f. pulled together its Super Bowl spot in three weeks. This year, it gave itself seven weeks. This speed is how the brand stays relevant, Marchisotto said. “The cast and crew that we pulled together are [currently] at the center of the cultural zeitgeist. And the only way we can do that is to compress time,” she said. According to Marchisotto, “a traditional company” that made its commercial “18 months ago” won’t resonate in the same way.
Starting last year, E.l.f. saw a space for beauty at the Super Bowl, Marchisotto said. “We had a hypothesis that women were underserved. We knew there were over 100 million viewers of which nearly 50% were women. … We said, ‘Let’s show everybody that beauty belongs everywhere.”
The results exceeded the brand’s KPIs, Marchisotto said, though declined to elaborate. “What it said to us was that, not only is there a place for beauty at the big game, but there is an even bigger place for beauty at the big game. … Our community [have told us they] want us there. They want more. They love the entertainment.”
Marchisotto declined to comment on E.l.f.’s spending for the commercial. But, she shared that the brand’s post-big-game buy is even bigger, with the commercial hitting more networks at key times. The ad will play on NBC, CBS and Bravo, as well as on streaming TV through EyeQ Paramount, Hulu, Peacock and Netflix. In addition, it will air during popular programs, including “SNL,” “Survivor” and “Vanderpump Rules.” Finally, it will be promoted on TikTok, Snap and Reddit, and in digital media on YouTube and Vox. “We’re pushing it out on a bigger platform than we did last year,” Marchisotto said.
