Known for their remarkable lip oils and pigmented liquid blushes, e.l.f. Cosmetics can be found in nearly every woman’s makeup bag. E.l.f. is an industry trailblazer when it comes to affordable, drug-store makeup; however, the beauty brand is receiving backlash after including controversial comedian Matt Rife in a recent campaign.
The campaign titled “e.l.f.ino & schmarnes” highlights the unreasonable prices set by the beauty industry, making Rife and iconic drag queen Heidi N Closet the legal heroes of beauty quality and affordability.
Notorious for his jokes about misogyny and domestic violence, Rife being the one representing an organization that markets its products primarily to women left many beauty fanatics scratching their heads.
Shortly after the controversy surfaced, e.l.f. posted an apology on Instagram. Despite the apology, many comments expressed frustration that the campaign was still being displayed on e.l.f.’s Instagram feed.
“Donate every dollar from that campaign to domestic violence prevention or keep your hollow words,” said one user in the comment section.
E.l.f. isn’t the only brand in the hot seat right now. American Eagle has also been facing controversy with the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign that launched in July. Both companies have armies of individuals dedicated to marketing, public relations, communications and advertising – how could such sloppy, negligent proposals pass through the corporate chain of approval? Gen Z calls it “rage bait,” but marketing masterminds call it “outrage marketing” or “shock advertising.”
In a recent YouTube video, creator Jaime French takes a more humorous approach when addressing both controversies; however, she also talks about “negativity bias” and the effect it has on audiences.
“Our brains pay more attention to negative things than positive things. Bad news sticks, outrage sticks, and brands know this.” French said. “Just remember, when you tweet things like this or make YouTube videos about it, you’re basically volunteering to work for e.l.f. Cosmetics’ marketing team.”
Whether the campaign was intentionally tone deaf or not, many content creators emphasize the cunning marketing techniques of e.l.f. Beauty in this recent scandal. However, some creators believe that e.l.f. isn’t sticking to their company values, and frivolous marketing is just their way of saying, “We don’t care about consistency and credibility.”
“E.l.f. has spent years and years building a reputation for empowering women. If your whole thing is about empowering and uplifting women, choosing someone whose most viral moment makes fun of abuse sends a completely different message than the one they’ve been trying to build,” beauty influencer James Welsh said in a TikTok video.
Welsh then goes on to explain how “dark comedy can have its own lane,” but this type of humor is no match for brands that promote their reputation, values and company culture in a much more uplifting manner.
As platforms continue to overflow with user-generated content about e.l.f. ‘s dazzling disaster, e.l.f.’s acquisition of Rhode Beauty received a more pleasant reaction from the beauty community in late May.
Rhode Beauty, led by world-class entrepreneur Hailey Bieber, has entranced young beauty consumers with their peptide lip treatments and skincare formulas. Rhode’s brand visuals mirror the popular “clean girl” aesthetic and polished appearance that many Gen Z consumers exhibit in their everyday styles.
Since the Rhode acquisition and Rife controversy, e.l.f. has created a puzzling and arguably inconsistent dynamic with its business decisions – especially with the choice to keep the controversial ad on Instagram.
E.l.f.’s most recent campaign has shown that even beauty brands can go a little rogue with their marketing plans. The constant evolution of cancel culture and brand accountability has advertising and communications teams on their toes, and “e.l.f.ino & schmarnes” is a textbook example of what not to do.
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