Bailey Calfee
Sep 17, 2024

Watch: Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul star in documentary-style campaign for Maybelline

The work aims to reintroduce the brand’s iconic Instant Erase Concealer to a younger generation.

(L-R) Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul. (Photo credit: Maybelline, used with permission)
(L-R) Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul. (Photo credit: Maybelline, used with permission)

Icons recognize icons — so when Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul agree on an it girl’s star power, the world listens. 

In a new spot for Maybelline, the three stars rave about another beauty icon on the scene, telling stories about her in a 100-second, documentary-style film. Hadid describes her as “major,” Campbell says she’s a “New York queen” and RuPaul seconds this, adding she “runs this town — we both do.”

But they never say who, exactly, they are talking about. Even though Hadid claims that she “always covers” for her and Campbell notes she “always sees her backstage,” the audience is left wondering the identity of the icon, which the faux documentary aims to uncover.

Turns out, the it girl in question is not a model, but Maybelline’s Instant Eraser Concealer, revealed 70 seconds into the film. The ad’s use of gendered pronouns to describe the concealer covered up — concealed, if you will — the fact that the models were talking about a product. 

In retrospect, anecdotes shared by Campbell, Hadid and RuPaul could easily describe a long-lasting concealer — like RuPaul’s assertion that she can go “all day or all night” and Hadid noting that “we’ve had a lot of long nights but you would never be able to tell.”

According to a press release, the ad’s format is a new approach from Maybelline that aims to introduce the product to a younger audience that loves direct-to-consumer indie beauty brands, but “may be unaware of the OG.”

The Only Icons debuted during the 76th annual Emmy Awards on Sunday and will continue to run across digital and social media, and further amplified through wild postings, murals and billboards around New York City and Brooklyn. Maybelline’s creative partner, Gotham, created the work.

Source:
Campaign US

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