These digital influencers are the new faces for Maybelline's mascara campaign

These digital influencers are the new faces for Maybelline’s mascara campaign

Jan. 5, 2017 4:10 PM PT

Maybelline is going where the influencers are. The L’Oréal-owned-cosmetics brand today announced that the video campaign for its new Volum’ Express the Colossal Big Shot mascara will feature two makeup artist vloggers known for their sizable social media followings.

Manny Gutierrez — @Mannymua733 — and Shayla Mitchell — @MakeupbyShayla — will appear in two promotional videos for the Colossal Big Shot mascara launch. They are set to begin airing this month on Maybelline’s YouTube channel, web site and in the campaign’s digital advertising, in tandem with the product’s entry into retail doors. The campaign’s theme is “Lash Like a Boss.”

“We’re so excited to team up with Manny and Shayla, who are true leading influencers in the social media world, on our first video campaign that features influencers as the stars,” said Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, senior vice president of marketing for Maybelline, in a statement. “They represented the ‘boss’ beauty attitude in this campaign like no one else could, bringing to life this message on-screen to inspire their millions of fans…to also ‘lash like a boss.’”

Gutierrez and Mitchell share a combined Instagram following of 5.1 million followers and a YouTube subscribership of 2.5 million. Gutierrez, a male whose Instagram bio reads “I think boys deserve just as much cosmetic recognition,” is the more popular of the pair, with about 700,000 more Instagram followers and a YouTube subscribership of more than 2.1 million.

The digital influencer phenomenon has already spread to the mass market, and Maybelline is certainly not the first mass brand to add a male makeup enthusiast to its system — last year, Cover Girl announced its appointment of James Charles, an Instagram makeup artist, to its roster of brand ambassadors. The campaign generated buzz because Charles is a teenage boy.

But as influencers continue to show their prowess in the beauty space, it is not surprising that Maybelline jumped on the bandwagon, said Wendy Liebmann, chief executive officer of WSL Strategic Retail. “Maybelline is saying, ‘We’re a very social brand and we want to maintain a younger, more digital shopper base.’”

Some mass-market brands are eschewing the influencer route. Just this week, Revlon announced it was adding Gwen Stefani, a more traditionally established celebrity, to its ambassador lineup.

“It tends to be a younger brand attracting younger consumers for which the power of the influencers is really strong,” noted Liebmann.

In today’s consumer climate, said Liebmann, celebrities aren’t totally out — but it helps if they have a social media following.

“The real power today is if you have somebody recognizable who is also socially effective, a celebrity that has credibility [on social media]. Celebrities who live in this new world can become hugely powerful.”

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