keeping up with the creatives: elf x liquid death's missing piece
Welcome to "Keeping Up With The Creatives", a series within "Out of Ink", where I stretch my creative strategist muscles and chat all things advertising, branding, art and more.
THE Collaboration of Q1:
Unless you've been living under a rock (or maybe you're just not an ad nerd like me), I am automatically assuming that you've heard of the Elf Cosmetics x Liquid Death collaboration that took the internet by storm earlier this year.
If you have, in fact, been living the Patrick Star lifestyle, please reference these sources for some context:
In March of 2024, two powerhouse, Gen-Z - approved brands with varying product offerings and seemingly polar-opposite aesthetics (but equally creative in-house marketing teams), paired up to bring the world a marketing curveball. Not only did they deliver a good old-fashioned satirical advertising play, but a limited-edition product that catered to the niches within both of their brand audiences.
Equipped with satin lipstick, cream eyeshadow, setting spray, dark eyeliner and a puffy makeup applicator, this set balanced beauty and mortality in a sleek Liquid Death inspired coffin packaging and promoted the goods with a "skit-like" ad that nodded at early 90's toy commercials.
My Initial (Unsolicited) Review:
I can't lie, when I first saw the collaboration's online buzz, I did a bit of an eye roll.
"Is it too gimmicky?"
"Wouldn't this be more of a Halloween type of promotion?"
"Fun.. but wearable?"
"Are enough people going to be drawn to the shtick?"
I was a certified skeptic.
Although I felt like it missed the mark for me, there's a reason I kept coming back to it.
Besides seeing it all over my social media pages (and the Intrinsic, magnetic pull to keep myself up to date with as much discourse surrounding my future career - the ad world - as possible), the collaboration reminded me of the importance of doing my own research and constantly reevaluating campaigns for what they are, why they are and whether or not they should be.
This collaboration, from a surface level view, made me furrow my brow
and it also challenged me to put in some work.
I had to sit down and get crafty. If I thought the collaboration had a gap in some way, then what was the missing piece that I thought would have added something of value?
I felt like I had to answer that for myself. So I dug deeper.
I scoured the internet (and the depths of my soul) to form an opinion on the campaign and to reimagine a piece of their collaboration that I thought would be a hit as a supplement to the already drool-worthy (as deemed by both LinkedIn ad critics and esteemed publishers) work.
Read on to watch me humble myself and to hear my pitch on a creative solution to a "problem" that was quite literally only a problem to me.
Thinking Harder (and Smarter):
After careful consideration, way more research, and a lot of self-reflection, I have to say, the collab really has grown on me. The overlaps In target audiences and the brand missions of sustainability behind the scenes of each corporation, on top of the desire to cause disruption with something silly... all of these details were taken Into consideration, as they should be. No, it doesn't have me stomping my feet wishing I was one of the lucky customers who snagged the set within the 45 minute window it took for them to sell out, but it does have me inspired to work smarter, ask better briefing questions, and think outside of the box in terms of building better brand collaboration strategies in the future.
What shifted In me?
As a marketer, I understand the "science" behind crafting brand personas and catering to target audiences, but it's easy for the marketer in me to lose her way when she's watching an ad as "Riley (Human Being)" and not "Riley (Creative Strategist)". I like to say that they're one in the same, that I have to attribute my humanity to my creativity and vis versa, but sometimes they are at war with one another.
So, to be honest, when re-evaluating this project, I had to call myself out:
Firstly, I'm not the target audience. This, quite literally, would never really speak to me in the way that it's intended to be received if it wasn't meant to be talking to me in the first place. That, I understand.
Secondly, I was forced to confront that I was projecting a pretty harsh bias. I had to reevaluate what inclusion meant, and the weight it carried for Elf in this collaboration. If "everyone wears makeup" then "everyone" should be represented - this includes the boldest, darkest, "niche-est" styles of beauty-based expression, not just the aesthetics that work for me.
(My apologies for overlooking the goth community on this one!)
Liquid Death, known for their edgy, "unserious" persona paired with Elf's reputation to uphold inclusivity and the encouragement of creative expression, was the birthplace of something that made me, and I imagine many others, consider the importance of community representation (even when that includes communities I'm not a part of, involved in trends that I don't necessarily understand or partake in in my own life).
Two "random" worlds can collide to make something interesting. And that category of interesting can make no sense to me, but as long as it makes sense to the goal of the two businesses and benefits the people engaging with the product, then who is to say it can be "too random" at all. The strategists' job is to make it make sense - and once I dove in deeper, it all made sense (as much as I wanted to have a "hot take", I realized it was a "hot take" for a reason). It was smart in its own right.
I still believe they missed a larger opportunity, but I can't take away from their brilliance. (And we'll get into that in my pitch later...)
Dear, Elf x Liquid Death:
You guys killed it (pun intended).
I appreciate the minds behind this strategy and I believe that they most definitely deserve their flowers (not only for making something with such widespread acclaim, but for reminding me that advertising can be many things and one of those things can be FUN).
And if you're looking for an additional creative strategist, let me know.
If you couldn't tell: I'm good with words, open to exploring new aesthetics, have the ability to admit when I'm wrong, and I appreciate the work of my fellow creatives. I'm also an innovative problem solver, as you'll soon see.
(Oh and clearly I have some extra time on my hands seeing as I am "playing pretend in the form of pseudo working on your team" right now… let's pretend that that's inspiring, not embarrassing.)
So, without further ado, here's my pitch:
My Contribution | Micellar Water:
As a play on Liquid Death's "Murder Your Thirst", I present: "Murder Your Makeup".
As every makeup lover knows, one of the most euphoric (and most dreadfully painful) parts of your daily routine, next to "beating your face", is"laying your look to rest".
Whether you're known for thick, dark eyeliner, rosy pink cheeks, red lips, sparkly eyeshadow (or all of the above), every makeup user knows that an essential step in the routine is a makeup remover. And after the downfall of makeup remover wipe's reputation, what better option than a micellar water?
THAT is this collaboration's missing ingredient (and arguably a huge missed opportunity for both brands).
With a bit of a "cultish" following, micellar water has grown in popularity as a go-to makeup remover method for many. Especially within the last 5 years or so as Gen-Z's obsession with the perfect "skin care journey" has been trending all over Tik Tok and Instagram.
A product centered around tiny micelles that "murder" built up product, oils and skin impurities, feels like the perfect product to marry the two worlds. Using infused Liquid Death water to wipe away your ELF cosmetics? A match made in heaven (with branding that emulates Hell, of course).
A product that reminds you to hydrate your body, hydrate your face and "slay" your look after a long day of slaying your look.
The official collaboration was filled with products that allude to death in their names, but why not go all the way and commit to the bit by really killing something (the customer's practically melted off, smudged-from-13-hours-of-wear, makeup look)?!
I took the liberty of brainstorming some ads too, so you don't have to.
Amongst many mockups, headlines and creative executions, this one was a favorite of mine:
(Mock Ad | ELF x Liquid Death - Micellar Water | By: Riley Coughlin 2024)
Not pictured: Micellar Water Packaging Brainstorm
Clear bottles ("potion" shaped? Coffin shaped?)
Aluminum caps (inspired by Liquid Death Cans)
Elf Skin x LD branding
Additional Copy Brainstorm:
"slay your look"
"lay your look to rest"
"hot people murder (their makeup)"
"we love dead beauties"
"evidence worth trashing" - crime scene polaroid aesthetic
(etc.) (sorry, but I can't share all of my genius on the internet....)
(Mock Ads | Elf x Liquid Death Micellar Water | "Murder Your Makeup" - Riley Coughlin 2024)
Signing off:
Marketing, as any other art form, is incredibly subjective.
Some people fall in love with campaigns at first glance, while others need some more convincing to appreciate the genius that it may be to others.
I had mixed emotions on their creative partnership, but was grateful that it fueled a creative episode in me, and helped me produce a concept that I was proud of (like come on, micellar water, that is kind of iconic if I do say so myself)!
Again, props to both teams and cheers (*cue Liquid Death cheers clink noise*) to all of the success this campaign has brought to you. It made me giggle, it made me scratch my head, it made me scour the internet for further explanations, explore niches that I was unfamiliar with, and, ultimately, made me take the time to write about it here. Shout out to the creatives who ran with their guts and made something inventive, fun and incredibly buzz-worthy.
I hope you all enjoyed my review of some noteworthy work and a glimpse of my creative brain put to the test.
As always, thanks for reading!
Feel free to send this to your ad nerd friends, fight me in the comments, or share your all time favorite ad below. :)
XO
~ Riley Rae
I absolutely loved this! From a fellow marketer, you are so unbelievably talented, please keep sharing this type of content !! ❤️