E.l.f. Beauty is stepping into the wild for its latest campaign, chronicling the frenzied enthusiasm of its shoppers for product launches with an Animal Planet-style ad that marks the rollout of its new E.l.f. Skin Bronzing Drops.

“Peculiar Behavior” debuted June 10 with a two-minute spot starring British actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who portrays a binocular-touting anthropologist that takes to the “field” to analyze the behavior of E.l.f. fans. The effort continues E.l.f.’s push into entertainment-led marketing, particularly within digital and TV, and arrives as the marketer reports explosive sales growth. The strategy also demonstrates how the cosemetics brand leverages social listening to inform creative.

“It was really important for us to harness what our community was sharing with us to actually create something that our community was desiring,” said Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f. Beauty. “The fact that this product has the ability to be transformative, but also is so addictive and so entertaining, and people are not shy about how they love it … that’s what we wanted to capture in a TV spot.”

The documentary-style video kicks off with Jamil explaining that the release of E.l.f. Skin’s Bronzing Drops has “created some peculiar behavior amongst Homo sapiens” before taking viewers to observe these individuals in their natural habitat. Among the sights is a teen attempting to swipe the serum from her sister’s room, a crowded airport where the only travelers who look fresh are those wearing the product and a home office where a remote employee relies on her Bronzing Drops to hide that she hasn’t left her house in days.

The spot ends with Jamil pulling out her own bottle of Bronzing Drops, which causes a frenzy, before a line appears that reads “E.l.f. Skin Bronzing Drops. Just $12. Go Wild.” Madwell Founder and Chief Creative Officer Chris Sojka directed the commercial, which will air on major streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.

While the campaign’s message — that E.l.f. fans are eager for any new product from the company — could be taken broadly, it was tailored to capture consumer excitement for Bronzing Drops, specifically. The tinted serum had already been in talks for E.l.f., but it wasn’t until CEO Tarang Amin was participating in a TikTok Live with the community that the team realized the sheer amount of demand expressed for the product, according to Lam. E.l.f. has been an innovator on TikTok and often taps into the channel for its marketing.

“The TikTok Live ended — it was civil, there were a lot of requests for it — [Amin] walked over to the product development area in Oakland ... where our headquarters is, and he asked for bronzing drops,” Lam said.

The marketer also let the community inform the product’s formula, ensuring that it debuted in three shades and was filled with good-for-you ingredients like antioxidants. E.l.f. went on to soft launch the offering to members of its Beauty Squad loyalty program, which has amassed about 5 million members. A teaser campaign on social media highlighted some of the crazier comments the brand received requesting the Bronzing Drops, like promises of marriage and tears of joy.

After the initial unveiling received positive feedback, E.l.f. sought to keep the momentum going while maintaining the community-led focus, driving the brand to create “Peculiar Behavior,” a campaign contributing to a launch effort that warranted “a little bit more love,” Lam said.

“We’ve always been listening and serving our community,” Lam said. “We are a brand that’s for the people, by the people, with the people, and that means that in many ways, a lot of the reasons why our community comes to us is because they know we will listen, and we see those comments.”

“There are a lot of brands that are listening, don’t get me wrong, but we take action and we take it fast,” the exec continued.

Eyeing entertainment

E.l.f.’s latest campaign arrives following strong earnings, with net sales jumping 77% year over year in fiscal 2024 to $1.02 billion. Fiscal Q4 also marked the brand’s 21st consecutive quarter of net sales growth. In response, the marketer increased marketing spending to 25% of net sales in fiscal 2024, a significant boost from 7% of net sales five years ago.

“We have a very significant, strong ROI, and it continues to be very healthy and robust, and as a result of that our marketing and digital spend has shifted with that growth,” Lam said.

Among its marketing investments has been a focus on entertainment, as seen through several moves, including the brand’s first national Super Bowl ad for this year’s big game. While E.l.f. is often regarded for its social media muscle, expanding into the TV and digital realms has been key to ensuring the brand meets consumers where they are, Lam said.

“We go where our community is, so sometimes it’s less about the platform, and it’s more about where we think our community is leaning into,” Lam said. “Where are they finding their content? Where are they finding their news? Where are they finding their trends?”

E.l.f. also recently teamed with fellow disruptor Liquid Death on a goth-themed Corpse Paint makeup collection that was promoted alongside a comedic spot riffing on the popular get-ready-with-me video genre. The collection sold out in 45 minutes and generated over 12 billion impressions. Notably, 68% of purchasers were new to the brand, Lam said.

“More than anything, I think [the partnership] just ignited the sense of entertainment,” Lam said. “We were able to capture an audience that we had never captured before, and we let our imagination go wild on this one, just like we did with ‘Peculiar Behavior.’”

While E.l.f. has developed a presence on platforms like TikTok that are favored by young consumers, Lam said that the company tries to take an open view on the demographics it engages. E.l.f.’s media strategy follows where its products are in demand as the brand attempts to avoid putting its community in a box, an approach that has helped shore up a broad appeal.

“We have everyone from boomers all the way to Gen Alpha, and the ability for us to be able to appeal to all these demographics actually lives true to who we are,” Lam said. “We’ve sought out to make the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip and face, and that’s exactly what we’ve done with our brand over the last two, three, four years.”