Lashing Out with A Viral Mascara Ad: Find out how fake eyelashes generated so much buzz for this brand!

Today, I’m thrilled to share another example of a guerrilla marketing campaign that successfully achieved its goal.

Are you ready?

Continue reading to know how this brand took its audience into a treasure hunt that harnessed both physical and digital spaces!

Lashing Out with A Viral Mascara Ad: Find out how fake eyelashes generated so much buzz for this brand!

In 2023,  Maybelline  faced a unique challenge: How can it promote a successful product like the Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara and take it to even bigger heights?

The product was already a favorite among beauty aficionados on  TikTok, receiving rave reviews about its affordability and high quality.

Maybelline knew it had a killer product on its hands; however, in the competitive world of beauty, staying ahead demands bold moves to remain relevant and become even more visible.

That said, what did Maybelline do to outshine the competition and ignite even more buzz for its product?

The brand broke the mold and what happened next was nothing short of genius.

Leveraging Technology for Marketing

Promoting beauty products to the public has become a challenging endeavor for companies since they need to do more to capture the attention of their target consumers.

Due to this, Maybelline’s marketing team had to come up with a way that would elevate its product in the eyes of its target market.

The marketing team’s answer?

Utilizing CGI technology!

The digital guerrilla marketing campaign played out like this:

In July 2023, Maybelline released a TikTok  video  that made viewers believe that an underground train in London was “wearing” fake eyelashes, with a giant mascara brush extending from a billboard to coat the fake lashes as the train passed by.

Then, the video cuts to the streets of London, where a double-decker bus, adorned with fake eyelashes, passes by a building where a giant mascara brush coats the fake eyelashes yet again.

Judging by how the video looked, it was reasonable for some to assume that the fake eyelashes and giant mascara were real since these looked so lifelike.

… and was exactly the point: To make viewers question if what they saw was real or fake.

When interviewed about the campaign, a representative from Maybelline said the whole point of the stunt was to surprise consumers and make them question the reality of what they saw.

Furthermore, the beauty brand wanted to create a digital asset that was fun and entertaining to look at.

So, was the campaign a success?

YES!

The video received nearly 3 million likes, 22,000 comments, and 76 million views on  Instagram.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, the video received over 35,000 likes and over 477,000 views.

With these results, there’s no doubt Maybelline was able to enhance visibility for both its brand and product.

Kudos to Maybelline and its marketing team!

—

By thinking outside the box and leveraging the power of technology, Maybelline was able to generate hype for an already successful product, taking both its brand and offering to new heights.

So, when you sit back and think about how you can generate buzz for your brand and offerings, take a look at Maybelline’s success story!

A creative spin that leverages both cutting-edge technology and the power of guerrilla marketing just might be what you need to successfully capture the attention of your audience and generate buzz for your brand.

I hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful!

EXCITING NEWS AHEAD

The world of work has shifted, and there’s no going back. The barriers to entry have never been lower for talented professionals to work independently, and today’s massive external workforce is hardly a pandemic-produced fad. Business owners can only survive in the new work landscape by partnering with this deep talent pool.

With decades of experience in both small-business entrepreneurship and executive management at PwC, I truly believe that the future of work is independent.

With that, I’m happy to share with you that my book, co-authored with Walter Scott Lamb, is now available for pre-order on Amazon!

Free Birds Revolution: The Future of Work & The Independent Mind

This is an essential read for both independent professionals and corporate executives. Here, we provide educational and practical guides to unpack the ever-growing workforce and offer you crucial ways to become a client of choice.

Click on the link above to pre-order your copy. Let this book help you future-proof your career and organization in the new world of work.

Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!

Do you want to know  how one heartwarming campaign in 2022 used dogs to change lives for the better, one “sniff” at a time?

See it in next week’s article!