Maybelline New York Reintroduces a Beauty Icon during the Emmy Awards with Naomi Campbell and Ru Paul

In recent years, films about cultural legends like Michael Jordan and David Beckham have captured public attention, spurring conversations and even TikTok trends. Inspired by these cult-classic documentaries, a campaign breaking during the Emmy’s from Maybelline New York and its agency partner Gotham is shining the spotlight on a different kind of GOAT: Instant Eraser Concealer. The cult-classic is the star of its own documentary-style campaign, featuring testimonials from beauty and fashion legends.  

In the trailer for the fictional documentary, Naomi Campbell, Gigi Hadid, and RuPaul – three icons in their own right- celebrate Instant Eraser and her place in culture – a beloved staple in the beauty routines of people around the globe. The product is often imitated, but never duplicated...with the explosion of DTC indie brands, concealers with similar packaging have made their way into the makeup bag of younger consumers who may be unaware of the OG. “Only Icons” aims to remind makeup-wearers why they loved Instant Eraser in the first place while bringing awareness to a younger audience.  

It’s a new approach for the product – previous campaigns for the concealer leaned heavily into the benefits of use. While those attributes aren’t being ignored, the latest campaign is meant to solidify Instant Eraser in the mind of consumers and reintroduce the product to the audience in a fun, dramatic way.

Working together with visionary director Bardia Zeinali (Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” Vogue’s “I Love New York”,) the Gotham team crafted a multi-camera approach that seamlessly blended the old with the new by shooting on 35mm and 16mm film, broadcast cameras, the Alexa, and even an iPhone. Embracing a bold, modern aesthetic, these diverse formats allowed for an eclectic mix of aspect ratios and a rich tapestry of textures, from refined cinematic grain to the immediacy of digital. 

“For “Only Icons,” we set out to capture the same level of reverence and cinematic storytelling found in culturally defining documentaries like The Super Models, The Last Dance, and Beckham. Partnering with Bardia Zaneli was a natural choice—his talent for blending striking visuals with narrative depth helped us elevate Instant Eraser Concealer in a way that feels both epic and intimate,” said Jason Moses, global executive creative director at Gotham. “We created a fictional documentary trailer, featuring some of the most recognizable icons of our time, as a tribute to a product that has, in its own right, become iconic.”  

“The “Only Icons” campaign has been such an exciting way to reinvigorate one of Maybelline’s heritage innovations and best performing products. It’s been a true partnership with our global client team, resulting in entertaining work that highlights the unquestionable iconic nature of this special product - and the place it deserves in our cultural zeitgeist,” said Andrea Lubel, director of client services / managing partner at Gotham.

The campaign will be unveiled through a documentary style trailer executed in three phases:  1) Tease; 2) Launch; 3) Sustain.

The full reveal took place during the Emmys on September 15, 2024 and will run across social and digital following with OOH wildpostings, murals and billboards around New York City and Brooklyn, NY.