CeraVe Made a Soap Opera to Educate Gen Z About Drama-Free Skincare Habits

When a glamorous young woman named Xochitl Cleansington begins her day, all seems well in the family mansion.

The first sign of trouble appears when her bottle of CeraVe cleanser is empty. She searches for a backup, but all she finds is a cabinet full of hand soap. 

Cue a dramatic scream and swelling soundtrack, with plenty of twists and turns to follow. Who is leading the Cleansington family astray with skincare lies? Is it the mysterious mustachioed man claiming to be a dermatologist? Is it actually Abuela who’s the culprit?

This is CeraVe’s version of a soap opera, but the moral of this story is about proper cleansing habits. Like its award-winning Super Bowl campaign starring actor Michael Cera, the L’Oréal brand’s melodramatic spoof uses entertainment to make skincare education more accessible. 

Created by agency 72andSunny, “Cleanse Like a Derm—a CeraVe Soap Opera” was inspired by the resurgence of soap operas, particularly among Generation Z and Generation Y audiences.

It leans on these nostalgic tropes to address common bad skincare habits, such as using the wrong soap or sleeping with makeup on. 

The film stars actress Xochitl Gomez, known for her role as America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as Xochitl Cleansington. 

Dr. Dustin Portela, a board-certified dermatologist and social media influencer, also appears in the drama. Milana Vayntrub, an actress from TV series This Is Us, directed the film.

After Xochitl’s trusted dermatologist steps in to save the day, only to face off against his own evil twin, CeraVe leaves viewers with a simple message: Soap operas are dramatic, but cleansers don’t have to be. 

The soap opera “gave us a vehicle to educate in a template that people already know and understand,” Kelly Buchanan Spillers, global head of digital and social at CeraVe, told ADWEEK. “It’s a nostalgic sense of how to educate, creating a two-way dialog.” 

The film will run across social, digital and streaming platforms. 

Additionally, CeraVe partnered with 40 influencers to create their own mini-soap operas highlighting bad cleansing habits, with the brand’s cleansers coming to the rescue. And dermatologist influencers created reaction videos in which they debunk those practices and promote CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser.

The brand is also taking its message on the road with the Drama Free Cleansing Tour. Starting in New York Aug. 1 before moving to Chicago; Nashville, Tenn.; and Atlanta, a 32-foot trailer will recreate the soap opera set and offer games, product samples and advice from Portela and other local dermatologists. 

A successful strategy

CeraVe’s soap opera takes cues from its 2024 Super Bowl campaign, “Michael Cerave,” which recently won the Social & Influencer Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. Weeks before the Big Game, Cera’s bizarre stunts went viral and sparked rumors that he was the skincare brand’s founder. During a Super Bowl ad break, the truth was revealed: CeraVe was created by dermatologists, not Cera.

While a brand spokesperson declined to share sales figures or social media metrics from the Super Bowl campaign, L’Oréal reported in its first-quarter-2024 earnings that CeraVe saw strong growth in the U.S. and internationally, “boosted by its highly successful Super Bowl campaign.”  

Like that effort, the latest campaign is influencer-led and designed for social media. Buchanan Spillers pointed out that “nostalgia is trending on TikTok,” which inspired the brand to turn to a genre that was popular during the 1980s and 1990s. 

The soap opera, a genre with multigenerational appeal, also continues CeraVe’s ventures into entertainment. In April, it followed its Super Bowl ad with a movie trailer for a fake romantic comedy, in which the protagonist’s true love was a bottle of moisturizer. 

This approach is helping the brand “deepen our relationship with Gen Z,” Buchanan Spillers said. “Gen Z is so influential not only in the cultural zeitgeist, but also with people in their own household.” 

Market research firm Circana found in its 2023 Women’s Facial Skincare report that CeraVe is the top-used brand among Gen Z and among the top three facial skincare brands used overall. 

U.S. retail sales of non-prestige skincare products—a category that includes CeraVe—totaled $1.38 billion between mid-March and mid-June, according to Circana. The amount is flat compared to the same time in 2023.

“CeraVe sales have been growing double-digits annually for the past three years, and much of its popularity has to do with the efficacy of its products, combined with its value for the price point, as well as its dermatologist recommendations,” Larissa Jensen, a beauty industry advisor at Circana, told ADWEEK. “67% of skincare consumers report that brands at drug stores or mass merchandisers are as good as higher-priced department store brands. CeraVe is a good brand success story in skincare.”

Paul Hiebert, deputy editor of special projects at ADWEEK, contributed to this report.