In 2016, America hit a major road bump on the journey towards progress. At a time when people saw the world taking a step backward, Johnnie Walker inspired them to keep walking.
With all eyes watching on the night of the election, the campaign launched.
We extended the message to Americans everywhere, even taking it to the U.S.-Mexico border with the help of actor Wilder Valderrama.
Then we created a cover of ‘This Land is Your Land’ with L.A. band Chicano Batman. The song was released on Spotify and iTunes, and the video debuted during the Grammy’s.
When people needed to believe in progress, ‘This Land’ became not just and ad, but and anthem for all of America.
To announce that xbox would now be available at verizon, we had to talk to gamers in a way that they would relate to and not made us look like trying too hard. To do this, we partnered with Average Jonas, one of the most famous streamers on twitch, and we made him a character in a real life game, with the audience controlling his actions through the chat.
Average Jonas went on a quest to find the ultimate loot: xbox all access. Through the different challenges, he had help from the chat but also from NPCs who gave him clues and gave away prizes to the audience.
The results surpassed all our expectations:
626K views.
38K comments generated on the chat.
100+ prizes awarded.
For years, e.l.f. bronzing drops have been one of the products e.l.f. fans wished the most. When the drops finally dropped, we knew their followers would go wild for them, so we lean into their feral behavior.
We teased the release by using comments from the fans showing how desperate they were for e.l.f. to create their version of bronzing drops, and we brought them to life in animated, fun, quick stories.
With the help of AI, we created overnight, a mini emo song and music video using some very dramatic and emotional comments.
For the launch itself, we doubled down on the Go Wild theme, and with the help of Jameela Jamil, we created a series of videos narrating the peculiar behavior of homo-sapiens as they discover the sought after drops.
To encourage people to celebrate special moments, even if they are small, we presented a new behavior; a way to mark them without having to use their whole bottle of the precious Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
We created a series of films representing different occasions to be aired throughout the year.
Within the online store in johnniewalker.com, we offered the pen for free so people could mark their bottles.
The moments marked on the bottles and what they represent, make the bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label worth more empty than full.
The internet has mastered the art of finding and obsessing over “dupe” products. But while most brands don’t want to be duped, e.l.f. Beauty flipped the script and invited it. “Dupe That!” is a campaign by e.l.f. that challenged the world to start duping something way more important: our values.
Because let’s be real—e.l.f. has been setting the standard for years. e.l.f. democratizes access to beauty with premium products for a fraction of the competitor costs. e.l.f. changed the board game, with a board of directors that is 78% women and 44% diverse. e.l.f. leads with kind hearts, with at least 2% of their profits going to drive positive change in the world. e.l.f. granted $180 million in equity to their employees by making them shareholders.
Instead of gatekeeping the principles that made e.l.f. popular, they put out a bold call-to-action: copy us, please! The way we see it, the more companies that dupe e.l.f.'s values, the better for business and for our world.
The campaign shouted those values from TikTok to The New York Times! Our videos and reels got ~6.7 million views and over ~127k engagements, with our loyal community jumping in to reinforce that this is why they support us. We took out spreads in The New York Times, and took over the Oculus to make sure our values reach beyond the social-sphere. We also hosted the world's first unicorn parade on socials to show that everything is possible when unicorn brands band together.
By hijacking the dupe discourse and turning it into a rallying cry, “Dupe That!” e.l.f. showed that being worth imitating is the biggest flex of all.
As the company that makes the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip, and face, we know that makeup is a powerful way to bring people together.
Our challenge? Getting the world to believe it, too. So we decided to put it to the ultimate test: could two people heal a blemished relationship by applying makeup to one another?
With that, e.l.f.’s “Make Up Over Makeup” video series was born.
Across our 3 episodes (so far) we’ve tapped Gen Z’s favorite former couple, TikTokers Chris Olsen and Ian Paget, famous Vanderpump Rules frenemies Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay, and finally, our most impressive episode to date, Love is Blind Season 6 breakout stars and ex fiances, Chelsea Blackwell and Jimmy Presnell.
Each episode brought the drama, tea, and emotion that our audience was craving. We even drove them from TikTok and Instagram via teasers over to YouTube to watch the full episodes, generating massive cross-platform conversations. Fans were moved by the honesty and maturity of each pair.
“Make Up Over Makeup” was a huge success. As a Gen Z brand, our objective was to get everyone watching our long-form content and talking about it, and that's exactly what we did.
Our primary KPI was video views, and Episode 1 alone received 7.6M views across owned and earned channels. Episode 1 landed at #16 on YouTube's Global Trending Videos chart, and quickly became e.l.f. 's best-performing YouTube video ever, all with $0 in paid media spend.
Episode 2 cemented the success of the series, and brought in an additional 6.4M views. Once again, the series was a hit with fans and with the press.
Episode 3 was our most successful episode to date. We managed to leverage the timeliest drama, driving 3.8B impressions and over 27M views.
And people didn't just watch, they engaged. Beyond video views, the content brought in a combined 1.6M engagements, with overwhelmingly positive sentiment. “Make Up Over Makeup” proved once again how e.l.f. is always at the cutting edge of Gen Z culture. In a world of 6-second attention spans, people were watching our long-form content and asking for more.
In recognition of women who lead the way, we created Jane Walker, the first-ever female iteration of the brand’s iconic striding man logo. Jane Walker is the celebration of the many achievements of women and a symbol of empowerment for all those on the journey towards progress in gender equality.
The Jane Walker icon debuted in a special-edition black label blend during women’s history month to celebrate the achievements of women, the men supporting them, and their shared journey towards gender equality. In doing so, we ignited a cultural conversation with 1.5 billion earned impressions in the first week.
For every Jane Walker edition bottle produced, Johnnie Walker donated $1 to organizations supporting women’s progress like Monumental Women and She Should Run.
To live to its purpose of ‘Amplifying the influence of Latino Greatness’, Buchanan’s partnered with superstar music artist J Balvin to launch 'Featuring J Balvin’, a once in a lifetime opportunity for aspiring musicians to have J Balvin featured in one of their compositions.
J Balvin created a song named after Buchanan’s tagline, ‘Es Nuestro Momento’, and we released only the vocal track for anyone to use.
To reinforce Wendy's positioning as the best quality fast food out there, we created a crusade. Something bigger than just explaining why we were a better option. We invited people to avoid mediocre food altogether.
For the crusade to be relevant, we created a movement including an anthem sang by a group of artists.
Despite being some of the most passionate consumers of cosmetics, Latinas, and especially Afro-Latinas, are often overlooked in beauty advertising. As the brand that stands for inclusivity and every eye, lip, and face, e.l.f. Cosmetics wanted to shine a spotlight on them. So we set out to honor Latin women with “ojos. labios. cara.” a song and music video that celebrates the power of the eyes, lips and faces of the Latin Community.
In order to speak to this diverse community, we knew we had to meet them on their own terms, in their own language. So we collaborated with Colombian superstar Manuel Turizo. This Gen Z idol uses his extensive platform and intimate connection with his fanbase to advocate for equality and empowerment, making him the perfect fit for the campaign.
To celebrate Latina makeup styles, we went back to the 1940s, an era when Pachucas wore makeup as a political statement. In a society that was trying to silence them, they developed styles you couldn't ignore – bold wingtips, bright lips, and a maximalist look that spoke volumes. This look is more than a makeup aesthetic – it’s a visual representation of female struggle and rebellion against the patriarchy.
The music video was released on YouTube, and the song dropped across multiple music streaming platforms. We measured our success based on two criteria–video views, and online streams. The results blew all existing e.l.f. records out of the water, with views higher than 99.99% of YouTube videos, over 300 cross-platform views, and a coveted place on Spotify’s “Hottest of the Week” playlist.
Beyond celebrating Latin beauty, our main objective with this music video was to portray the Latin community in its true essence. And most importantly, to ensure they felt seen.
In 2016, Telemundo won the rights to the FIFA World Cup after more than 40 years. They wanted people to realize that they were now the home of the World Cup, so they showed up in a completely different way than what the audience had seen with Univision year after year.
As part of the campaign, we created their anthem spots for both the Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup, we designed the whole visual identity, and we created formats to act quickly on social with user generated content.
To help smartwater differentiate their 4 variants and bring everyday wellness beyond water, we partnered with producer Toro y Moi to create 4 soundtracks with 4 artists that go with each one of them:
For smartwater original, which helps you focus, we created the soundtrack ‘Flow’ feat. Madeline Kenney
For smartwater antioxidant, which helps you relax and manage stress, we created the soundtrack ‘Balance’ feat. Washed Out
For smartwater alkaline, which helps you recover after a workout, we created the soundtrack ‘Move’ feat. Nosaj Thing
For smartwater sparkling, made for social occasions, we created the soundtrack ‘Connect’ feat. Empress Of
Based on the soundtracks, we also created infinite looped soundscapes partnering with Endel and their proprietary technology.
Diageo tasked us to create a new visual identity for Don Julio that would make it stand out against competitors in the world of Premium Tequila.
Using the color palette found in the towns, crafts and the architecture of Mexico we developed a distinctive and consistent system that helped differentiate Don Julio and communicate its main message: Don Julio is the Tequila For Those Who Know, because it’s the No. 1 Premium Tequila in Mexico.
Crown Royal wanted to re-fresh their social responsibility message, so we created The Crown Royal Water Break; a moment within NFL games in which we invited consumers to take a break, hydrate and make the game more enjoyable for them and their friends.
GRWMusic was driven by the insight that music and makeup are deeply intertwined in Gen Z's self-expression rituals. Data showed that 89% of Gen Z women listen to music while getting ready, with 92% saying it boosts their mood and 76% believing it enhances their makeup process. Recognizing this connection, e.l.f. sought to create a cultural moment rather than a traditional marketing campaign.
Inspired by viral #GRWM video content online, we created Get Ready With Music, an objectively good, no-skips album for makeup users to play while getting ready to go out.
We tasked 12 emerging artists across different genres, backgrounds, and identities to write songs that they’d include on their own GRWM playlists and come together in a beauty-inspired album.
The release of GRWMusic became a huge success. The songs featured on the album garnered thousands of monthly listeners on Spotify, verifying that people were coming back to listen over and over again.
The campaign became a platform for showcasing and furthering the careers of underrepresented voices in the music industry and e.l.f. was able to serve its mission of empowering every eye. lip. and face.
Listen to GRWMusic here
Nice Shades Tees is a line of t-shirts I created based on the common behavior of hanging your sunglasses on your shirt.
