To receive the Glossy Pop newsletter in your inbox every Friday, click here.
Forget models. Comedians are the hottest new cast members for marketing campaigns.
As evident in E.l.f. Cosmetics’ 2023 Super Bowl spot featuring Jennifer Coolidge, CeraVe’s 2024 Michael Cerave Super Bowl spot and Philips Sonicare’s new campaign with “SNL” star Kate McKinnon, marketers want to make you laugh. In beauty, specifically, brands including Milani, Maybelline and Lancôme have partnered with comedian and podcaster Hannah Berner on campaigns, social content and events.
For its part, Sonicare’s “Sonicare Switch” campaign debuted on September 30 during “The Tonight Show” after McKinnon was asked by host Jimmy Fallon about the spot. Sonicare’s goal for the campaign was to create product awareness and encourage people to switch to its electric toothbrushes.
“We know that there are better tools out there than manual toothbrushes,” said Matina Vidalis, senior marketing director for the oral healthcare division of Philips North America. “We wanted to lower the barrier to entry, … and humor has such a natural way of giving you permission to consider something you otherwise wouldn’t.” The campaign riffs on McKinnon playing a character named Susan Toothbrush who encourages people to switch from manual brushes to Sonicare.
Meanwhile, Norelco, the electric shaver brand also owned by Philips, tapped “Parks and Rec” star Adam Scott for a series of ads it has been running since April. In one spot, Scott plays a version of himself more obsessed with his facial hair than with learning his lines.
“We wanted someone who’s approachable, unintimidating and feels a bit like your friend, but who’s still smart,” said Rafael Viestel da Silva, marketing director for Philips grooming and beauty. “You listen to that guy because he knows what he’s talking about, but he’s not talking down to you.” The ad spots, which have run on Amazon, Hulu and Meta, have been timed to back-to-school, Father’s Day and the holidays. They’ve seen over 1.8 billion paid impressions and over 180 million views across these channels.
While it would be easy for a razor campaign to get bogged down in talk about the technical features of the product, those are not the things that make a campaign memorable, Viestel da Silva said.
But humor in advertising can be hard to get right. “It can backfire if you don’t strike the right tone,” Vidalis said. “It also depends on the product category. … Do you want to be funny about pharmaceuticals? Definitely not.”
“One of the things we hear from consumers is that big brands take themselves too seriously and it makes it hard to relate,” said Vidalis. “[They want to know] if you have a personality and if you empathize with what they’re going through … And that’s where humor has a really big role to play.”
Since its ad with Coolidge, E.l.f. has leaned into humor in a big way. In October, it debuted a campaign dubbed “Divine Skintervention” starring “Hacks” star Megan Stalter. Stalter played the part of a “sinfluencer” who encouraged consumers to commit skin crimes like sleeping in their makeup and overpaying for trendy beauty products. “We have a community within E.l.f. that loves her, and we believe her humor is aligned with way that E.l.f. likes to entertain our community,” said Laurie Lam, E.l.f.’s chief brand officer.
In a Glossy interview from July 2023, Milani CMO Jeremy Lowenstein spoke about the brand’s work with Berner and why it made sense. “Whether you’re in the beauty industry or any other, sometimes marketers can be very myopic” in only working with beauty creators, he said. “But comedy brings a light-hearted, unfiltered approach to the conversation because [comedians] are willing to talk about the uncomfortable things.” Plus, he said, people are multifaceted in their interests.
Berner worked with Milani on a campaign dubbed “#NoFilterJustMilani.” “Beauty has started to evolve to where it’s [no longer] about perfection. … Now, there’s a desire to have a real conversation about who you are and to embrace who you are,” Lowenstein said. And humor provides an avenue to do so.
While most of the aforementioned ads are big investment commercials, the rise in comedic content traces back to social media content. On TikTok and other social media platforms, brands often tap into trends based on humor or create original content that’s intended to entertain. In September, TooFaced tapped creator Amanda McCants, known for her sketch comedy, for longer-form YouTube content promoting its Born This Way concealer. In January, California Naturals leveraged the #GRWM trend to make a video of brand ambassador Owen Wilson using the brand’s products. And in February, Living Proof worked with Paris Hilton on a cheeky, nostalgic ad promoting its dry shampoo.
“In the broader sphere, things are really heavy, right? We’ve gone through a pandemic, we’ve gone through all sorts of civil unrest, and there are big wars,” Vidalis said. “So maybe there’s a tone to shift to [wanting] a little more levity.”
Inside our coverage
The fragrances teen boys are buying for the holidays
How concerned should retailers be about shrink?
Mona Kattan’s Kayali is the latest brand to go big on gourmand fragrances
Reading list
It’s holiday window season in New York City
