A brand new advert from e.l.f. Cosmetics goes to court docket to make the case in opposition to overpriced magnificence merchandise. However its premise leaves no less than one key merchandise off the docket: the funds cosmetics model’s personal current value enhance.
Debuting at present (Aug. 11), the marketing campaign casts drag star Heidi N Closet and comic Matt Rife from the fictional regulation agency “e.l.f.ino & Schmarnes,” which is on a mission to defend magnificence justice.
Parodying low-budget private damage advertisements, the spot invitations individuals to name 1-855-COLD-HARD-LASH if value inflation has harm their pockets. However as an alternative of ambulance chasing, they’re chasing make-up markups whereas selling e.l.f.’s low costs.
E.l.f.’s mock trial in opposition to inflated costs lands after it raised its personal costs by $1 beginning Aug. 1, citing inflation and President Donald Trump’s rising tariffs.
On final week’s earnings name, e.l.f. executives warned the annual value of products bought might rise by about $50 million, due to the newly imposed 55% tariff on items made in China, the place e.l.f. sources 75% of its merchandise. Till Could, the speed had been 25% since 2019.
E.l.f. Magnificence chairman and CEO Tarang Amin stated he expects the tariffs will trigger different firms to additionally elevate their costs, however that its transparency concerning the hike had been well-received by clients.
“We take fairly severely our duty to ship a unprecedented worth to our group,” Amin advised analysts. “Even the way in which we’ve taken pricing, of first letting our group know [and] being clear, has been properly obtained by our group.”
Past the worth enhance, the corporate is utilizing different means to reduce the consequences of upper prices, together with accelerating the diversification of its manufacturing. When asserting the worth hike in Could, e.l.f. additionally famous 75% of its objects will keep priced under $10.
Requested by ADWEEK if the advert was a direct response to rising client value sensitivity, e.l.f. chief model officer Laurie Lam emphasised that the marketing campaign makes use of humor and storytelling to highlight its worth.
As as to if financial uncertainty is making affordability a stronger model differentiator, Lam stated fashionable customers are “extra knowledgeable, extra values pushed, and extra funds aware.”
“They count on transparency, high quality, and accessibility. At e.l.f., we don’t simply take heed to our group—we lean in,” Lam stated. “Our group has advised us they need high-quality merchandise with out the excessive price ticket, and that’s what we ship.”
This isn’t the corporate’s first time utilizing a authorized theme in its promoting. Final yr, e.l.f. ran its first national Super Bowl ad starring Decide Judy as “Decide Magnificence,” and tapped into the true crime fandom with a parody crime documentary known as “Beauty Criminals.”
