Tate McCrae’s Neutrogena Ad Fail
Tate McCrae’s viral TikTok Neutrogena ad is exactly why I always say that we are past the days of “all publicity is good publicity.”
There are two immediate flags in this video which would cause me to tell any brand that this content is actually not good for their reputation or sales.
The first is that I saw the parodies before I saw the ad. The level of virality and conversation that you have to have about something being so bad that it's funny to see the parody videos before the original is an immediate sign.
The second flag is the comment section. (i.e., The number of comments that are like: "Ew, careful! It almost touched your skin.”)
If you haven’t seen the ad (linked in the first sentence), McCrae is on a private jet, supposedly filming herself taking off her makeup. To begin, she’s giving the same expression an actress would in an audition where the character is a teenager being forced to pretend they like eating their vegetables.
Which is to say: She’s smiling uncomfortable as she takes a makeup cleansing wipe. She rips the packaging open so aggressively, it feels like a skit of an influencer reel. Then while the wipe moves in a circular motion near her face, it doesn’t seem to touch her skin, and her makeup is absolutely unchanged. She has the exact same amount of makeup before and after using the makeup remover and wipe.
Next, she really awkwardly opens the container of face lotion. Again motions slightly above her skin, appearing not to have contact, and again her skin is unchanged.
We have to remember the greater social media landscape which is that we're so oversaturated with GRWM (Get Ready With Me) and UGRWN (un-get-ready-with me) that we're used to seeing someone's skin change with each step. If she’s indicating use of a makeup remover wipe, we expect the eye makeup to come off; we expect her to show a previously clean wipe now with makeup all over it. We expect the lotion to make her skin dewier— that is, if the goal is for us to buy the product, which is my whole point.
Invariably, there will be some commenters and/or marketers who will comment that the campaign is successful because it’s viral. They’ll say things like:
When was the last time you were thinking or talking about Neutrogena?
Tate McCrae went from headlining Lollapalooza to using their products immediately after!
Brands will often try to save face by claiming they were in on the joke.
But none of these arguments hold water (or makeup remover, as the case may be). Because an increase in visibility at the expense of brand reputation and sales is not valuable. Laughing with you is one thing; but laughing at you…and they're not buying your product…your content was not successful.
What might they have done instead? Imagine using the wipes to take off the liquid gold Tate was dipped in at Lollapalooza. THAT would’ve been extraordinary influencer content.
—
I’m Sara McCord and I work with thought leaders and brands to create viral social media strategies and content. Reach out for an AMA call or a custom strategy. For more on what’s trending in marketing, check out my website (www.saramccord.com) or follow me across social: TikTok, Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and more at sarajmccord.
