e.l.f. Cosmetics
e.l.f. commissioned an original track rather than licensing one, built to be danced to and to teach the audience what the brand name stands for: eyes, lips, face. It became the most-viewed branded challenge in TikTok’s US history to that point.
- Time to one billion views
- 6 days
- Format
- Original commissioned song
- Follow-up campaign to 1B views
- 3 days
What happened
The insight was that TikTok challenges are carried by sound, not by hashtags, and that every existing branded challenge was borrowing someone else’s song. Commissioning one meant every video made with it was unambiguously e.l.f.’s, and the brand name was inside the lyric rather than bolted onto the caption.
e.l.f. announced the song in October 2019. The challenge became the fastest to pass a billion views — reached in six days — and generated millions of user videos. The company returned to the format the following year with #elfMagicAct, which passed a billion views in three days.
Campaign details
- Campaign
- #eyeslipsface
- Launched
- 2019
- Sector
- Beauty
- Platforms
- TikTok
What to take from it
On a sound-led platform, own the sound. Licensing someone else’s track means every view you buy also advertises the track.
Sources
-
e.l.f. Turns Up the Volume on Beauty with Release of "Eyes. Lips. Face." Song
e.l.f. Beauty investor relations -
e.l.f. Cosmetics' New #elfMagicAct TikTok Challenge Surpasses One Billion Views in Just Three Days
Business Wire