AdMiration feature: Maybelline New York’s “Only Icons”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we researched Maybelline New York’s “Only Icons” ad. The ad premiered at this year’s Emmy Awards and is part of their campaign geared at promoting their popular Instant Eraser Concealer. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to on-screen text that reads “A Maybelline film” as the scene expands to show Naomi Campbell, interview-style, saying, “If I say she’s an icon, she’s an icon.”   

A montage of scenes showcasing other fashion and beauty celebrities plays, such as Gigi Hadid on a talk show stating, “She’s major” and RuPaul in the back of a cab saying, “It takes an icon to know an icon.” 

More scenes play across the screen, with tabloid media clips and interviews of the celebrities, until “Maybelline presents: History’s greatest cover-up” appears on screen. 

Intro scenes play out as the greatest cover up is revealed: Maybelline New York’s Instant Eraser Concealer. The concealer is then shown at a photoshoot, on a billboard, atop cab ad stands and more, with pull quotes like “Never skips a beat” and “No creases, just icons” flashing across the screen.   

Naomi Campbell and GiGi Hadid are shown applying the concealer, as the scene shifts to RuPaul walking NYC saying, “Instant eraser, baby!” 

The ad closes with a shot of the product with the words “Maybelline New York Instant Eraser Concealer” surrounding it.

3 facts

• Maybelline New York’s “Only Icon’s” is an iconic performer, scoring in the top 1% of US finished film ads in potential to drive short-term sales and top 5% in driving brand equity among the women under 45. The ad’s strength shines through among all women, with short-term potential in the top 10% of ads and building equity in the top third of US ads.  

• The storyline keeps viewers’ attention with nearly 94% of women watching the full ad —  a testament to the ad’s distinctiveness (4.0 mean score vs. 3.9 US norm) and relevance (3.8 mean score vs 3.5 US norm).

• Viewers like the premise of the storyline, celebrities and evoke “love” when Maybelline’s eraser stick is revealed as well as the message “no creases, just icons” appears and Gigi and Naomi are applying the product. These, among other factors, contribute to a strong pre-post purchase shift (33% vs. 18% US norm).

2 learnings

•  When done correctly, portraying diversity and/or celebrities in a relevant and authentic way can benefit the brand. Maybelline approaches this in a smart way, causing viewers to spontaneously call out how much they liked the diversity of the cast, different skin tones and chosen celebrity appearances. This was also a great way to keep the audience’s attention throughout the ad, without detracting from the brand itself. 

• Even if you don’t show your brand at the start of the ad, if you can keep your audience's attention, a big reveal can be a hit! Maybelline does a great job of capturing the audience's attention with not only the cast, but also in the documentary-style of the ad and it’s build up to reveal the “icon” everyone is talking about. The big reveal worked well for them and evoked strong love, especially among women under 45.

1 reflection

Have you thought about how you could effectively showcase your brand in a way that you want it to be seen? In this case, Maybelline New York wants to portray the boldness and iconic status of their brand, which contributes to the intended  message. They use celebrities (Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul), a unique style, as well as product shots and New York scenes that all portray Maybelline as bold and iconic while fitting with the brand. People love the boldness in Maybelline’s ad positioning and story. When done in an authentic way,  showing your brand in a way you want it to be seen can be very successful and can help generate stronger brand appeal.

Maybelline New York’s “Only Icons” campaign, created by Gotham, reintroduces their popular Instant Eraser Concealer and features a handful of celebrities, such as RuPaul, Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid. 

The campaign, which takes the form of a fictional documentary trailer, debuted during the prestigious Emmy awards, aiming to reconnect with loyal users while capturing the attention of a younger audience.

The focus of the campaign is less on the concealer’s practical benefits and more on its iconic status in cosmetics history. Through testimonials from fashion and beauty legends, “Only Icons” reaffirms the product’s legacy and positions it as a timeless staple.

“For ‘Only Icons,’ we set out to capture the same level of reverence and cinematic storytelling found in culturally defining documentaries like The Super Models, The Last Dance, and Beckham. Partnering with Bardia Zaneli was a natural choice—his talent for blending striking visuals with narrative depth helped us elevate Instant Eraser Concealer in a way that feels both epic and intimate,” said Jason Moses, global executive creative director at Gotham, the agency behind the Maybelline commercial adding, “We created a fictional documentary trailer, featuring some of the most recognizable icons of our time, as a tribute to a product that has, in its own right, become iconic.”

The campaign has three phases to its rollout: Tease, Launch and Sustain. It will span digital and social platforms, as well as outdoor advertising, which includes murals and billboards throughout New York City.

The new Maybelline New York’s “Only Icon” ad is iconic. It drives strong Sales Impact (95) and Brand Impact (73) among women overall. This is even more pronounced among a more targeted younger audience of women under 45 where potential for sales (Sales Impact 99) and equity (Brand Impact 95) lands in the top 5% of all US ads!

What are some of the key elements that help make Maybelline’s “Only Icons” iconic?

What makes this ad so successful is the unique and intriguing storyline shot in New York and fashioned after “Top Model,” featuring diverse celebrities that fit well with the brand.

The story utilizes the Top Model style with many New York scenes that flash between Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid and RuPaul talking about an icon, initially making viewers think that they’re talking about a person. The story takes a twist when it’s revealed that the icon is Maybelline New York’s Instant Eraser Concealer, not a person. The brand and the messages play an integral role in the story and are part of the big reveal. It’s difficult to replay the story without talking about the brand and messages.  

The unique style and uncanny story make the ad distinctive (mean score of 4.0 vs. 3.7 US norm) and relevant (mean score of 3.8 vs. 3.5 US norm) to viewers.

Viewers particularly like the style, storyline, celebrities and message. Here is what some of the viewers said:  

• "I liked the cast for this advertisement. I think it is fitting for the message trying to be conveyed."

• "I love RuPaul, so seeing him in the ad was great! It also had great shots of New York."

• "I like that there were iconic figures advertising the product and that it was filmed in an iconic city."

• "The people are very believable."

• "I love how they made it mysterious like it was a person they were hiding but it turned out to be the makeup that everyone needs.”

• "I liked seeing a lot of strong, confident women portrayed. The product looked like something I would like to try."

• "That everyone was trying to get the message across about how great the fine line eraser is.”

People are very intrigued by the story and almost everyone watches the full spot (94% vs. 89% US norm).  While there’s a risk with reveal ads being unable to keep the viewer engaged, this ad does a great job of keeping the audience enticed and ensures the brand has an integral role in the story.

The intrigue creates good emotional engagement, particularly among women under 45 (Overall Emotional Score: 71 versus 58 US norm), and emits strong “love” (and “likes” to a lesser extent). Key moments of “love” are RuPaul in the back of the taxi saying “oh, we both do”  (who doesn’t love RuPaul?) and the last third of the ad when the “mystery” is revealed as Maybelline New York’s iconic Instant Eraser — most notably when the Maybelline billboard is shown, the no creases, just icons shot and when Gigi is shown applying the eraser stick.

What’s clever is that the “secret” revealed is about the Maybelline brand and the messages that reveal this “secret” are when emotional engagement is high. This works effectively to clearly convey both the brand and messages. 

Nearly 75% (versus a 70% norm) of viewers playback Maybelline as the brand after watching the spot among a clutter of other ads. There are many elements that help people understand this is an ad for Maybelline New York, the most noteworthy being the numerous product shots shown (e.g. continuous pans to billboards, the product, the logo), RuPaul as well as the New York scenes and models.

The intended messages, particularly that “Maybelline New York is iconic”, come through clearly given the portrayal of boldness throughout the ad as well as the messages being part of the key reveal which is very emotionally engaging.

The messages drive very strong purchase uplift (33% vs. 18% US norm) and brand appeal (3.9 mean score vs. 4.0 US norm). Brand appeal is even stronger among women under 45 (4.3 mean score vs. 3.9 US norm).

Maybelline makes a smart move with the diverse celebrity cast. They are well-liked, with RuPaul known for using Maybelline and Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid being popular models/celebrities that fit with the brand. Their characters and personalities interplay well and suit the Top Model-esque storyline.

What’s even better is that people spontaneously mention how much they like the diversity of people shown in the ad. This is a great example of portraying diversity in a relevant and authentic way which benefits the brand.

Here’s what a few viewers shared:

• “They had white and black, gay and straight fashion people all admiring the Maybelline flawless eraser product."

• "I liked how it shows all skin tones and types of people. Also how it shows the concealer.”

• "Liked very much that it was quite inclusive."

• "I liked that it had famous people in there which lets you know this brand is one of the best."

The fresh Maybelline New York’s “Only Icons” ad is a great example of utilizing a distinct  style and celebrities that keep viewers engaged throughout the ad. Viewers clearly pickout the brand and messages despite not being fully revealed until the last third of the ad. This showcases the power of the intriguing story, cast and bold product shots to land this spot as a high performer.

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