A growing number of U.S. women can’t wait for Super Bowl
kickoff, and for some beauty brands, that creates a whole new playing field. E.L.F., EOS and Dove — all Super Bowl veterans — are each taking a different approach to breaking through
advertising’s most chaotic showcase.
New data from CivicScience, the Carnegie Mellon University-backed research company, finds that 62% of U.S. women 18 and older say they are likely to
watch the game this year, up two percentage points from last year, and six points from 2024. Conversely, there’s been a slight downward tick among men, with 70% planning to watch, compared to
71% last year.
E.L.F. is diving in with a diabolically on-brand approach, tapping comedy superstar Melissa McCarthy for “Melisa,”a telenovela-spoofing campaign for its best-selling Glow Reviver Lip Oil. The work hits two goals. First, it proves the brand
understood the assignment when Bad Bunny told America it had four months to learn Spanish. And second, it shows E.L.F. can make the kind of inside jokes its Hispanic audience already loves them
for.
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In the spot, McCarthy — worried about not knowing Spanish just before a big concert — gets into a car crash. She wakes up (fully made up, naturally) in a hospital, where a
hunky doctor helps heal her injuries and coach her through rolling her Rs, thanks to the lip oil. A villain soon appears: telenovela icon Itatí Cantoral, who gnashes her teeth in a jealous rage
as McCarthy masters the pronunciation of “beso" (kiss).
For non-Spanish speakers, the campaign includes a joint promotion with Duolingo. E.L.F. loyalty members can access an
exclusive offer for a complimentary Super Duolingo subscription, allowing them to learn Spanish without ads. For Latin audiences — which make up 18% of E.L.F.’s buying households —
the brand is also launching “Descubre e.l.f.ecto,” with episodic content set to roll out later this month.
In the announcement, E.L.F. CMO Kory Marchisotto said the pairing of Glow
Reviver Lip Oil with McCarthy and Cantoral during “the most impactful cultural moment of the year” reflects the brand’s ambition to “show up to celebrate with our Latin and
Hispanic community in a meaningful way.”
The spot, from 72andSunny Amsterdam, will stream on Peacock during the Big Game, kicking off a broader campaign across TV, social and digital
channels. This marks E.L.F.’s fourth year advertising in the Super Bowl.
EOS is also back in the game, following strong results last year with a humor-led approach. The brand tapped
“Saturday Night Live” comedian Mikey Day for a spot spoofing “Is it Cake?," to introduce its pistachio-scented
Cashmere Body Mist. The joke nearly ends with a knife being plunged into a hapless — but pistachio-scented — boom operator.
The ad is scheduled to run in more than 20 markets
during the game, up from nine last year. The campaign, themed “These Scents Eat,” includes 30- and 15-second spots across TV, CTV, online video and paid social. Mischief @ No Fixed Address
is the agency.
Dove is also returning for the third consecutive year, continuing its long-running focus on confidence and girls’ participation in sports. Its new spot, “The Game Is Ours,” is part of the long-running Dove Self-Esteem Project, which aims to keep girls playing amid research showing that
50% drop out of sports by age 14, often due to low body confidence.
The ad, created by Ogilvy, is scheduled to run in the second quarter.