E.l.f never thought it would promote its primer as the perfect skin-smoothing product for dolphin wannabes, but when the adored star of The White Lotus tells Access Hollywood that she dreams of growing fins, you adjust your marketing strategy. 

In the 30-second spot, which marks the brand’s debut in the Super Bowl, Jennifer Coolidge opens a gift from e.l.f at her vanity, applies the product and proceeds to rehearse for her dolphin audition. The ad will air during the second quarter in the top nine Super Bowl markets and stream nationally on Fox. 

After identifying a collective consumer emphasis on the product’s stickiness, chief marketing officer Kory Marchisotto eyed Coolidge, who she calls the “stickiest icon in culture right now,” to bring her brand to the “stickiest moment of the year.”

“eyes.lips.face.sticky,” which was co-written by creative agency Shadow and The White Lotus’ Mike White, reaffirms e.l.f’s commitment to aligning with internet culture by combining a viral product with an adored red carpet moment. The creative, which came together in 12 days, reflects Shadow’s strategy to advance the brand forward by “leaning into the absurd.” Previous campaigns include a Weather Channel forecast with Meghan Trainor and a Chipotle-inspired makeup line.

“Entertainment marketing is definitely having its moment and the Super Bowl was a great forum to lean into that,” said Brian Vaughan, ecd and partner at Shadow. “Beauty is an interesting category because it is so hero product driven, especially for a brand like e.l.f that considers TikTok its stomping ground.” 

e.l.f has been a consistent subject of user-generated content: the hashtag #powergripprimer has garnered nearly 70 million views and the brand launched an original song and viral hashtag challenge in 2019, a time when few brands were paying attention to the platform. 

“We are less of a traditional beauty company and more an entertainment company that transcends product and thinks about creating an orbit that people want to be a part of,” said Marchisotto.

The creative will be followed by episodic content on TikTok and The Dolphin Face bundle, which features three of its most popular products and is also now available on the brand’s website.

For the latest Super Bowl 57 advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2023 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories here. And join us on the evening of Feb. 12 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials.