IL MAKIAGE

The ask: Launch this new beauty company in New York City.

The work: We brought IL MAKIAGE — a colorful, pigment-packed beauty brand — to life at the height of the low-maintenance, no-makeup makeup movement. Our message was different: own your high standards and embrace the hell out of your 20-step beauty routine. We introduced makeup for maximalists to anyone who wouldn’t dare settle for a subpar mascara (or a request to smile).

My role: I worked on the creative concept and wrote billboard and subway ads, commercial scripts, and social copy. I also helped on set during the photoshoot in LA. This work led to the CEO poaching me to come in-house, where I spent the next 4 years.

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The tease

We launched the brand’s dramatic NYC entrance with bold, sassy teasers that took over the city, focusing on neighborhoods where the “no makeup makeup” brands were thriving. This clearly struck a chord with our target audience, as hundreds of people actually began posing with these ads and posting them on social media.

Once we got them to social via our Instagram handle, we stretched the tease by revealing only a quote, quick clips from the photoshoot, and the upcoming launch date.

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No one knew what the teaser or this new brand was about, but that didn't stop them from leaving hundreds of comments and thousands of likes on each video. We hit 60k followers that first week.

The launch

A week later, we went live in a big way, dialing up the daring and unapologetic tone with wild postings and some of the biggest billboards in Soho and Times Square. Finally, everyone could see the outcome of our week in LA with photographer Tony Kelly. The high-maintenance men and women of the world weren’t quiet about their support.

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The wildest part of this project was how much the client signed off on, but the city of New York did not. This Times Square billboard was supposed to end on the line, “I wouldn't be caught dead in Times Square." but…that hit a nerve.

The MTA also rejected our subway headlines. Check out our originals below.

Social

From YouTube pre-roll to social stories and posts, we had the greatest time branching out beyond headlines. For more social content, check out this page to see how we evolved post-launch.