A strange thing happened after the Feb. 6 NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics: Mavericks star Anthony Davis was spotted lugging a giant cooler of CeraVe moisturizer as he left the arena.
That same day, TikTok dancer turned Broadway star Charli D’Amelio carried a cross-body container of CeraVe cream on her way to rehearsals for the musical & Juliet. She then revealed her unusual pre-show ritual: kneeling at a CeraVe shrine, where she rubs moisturizer on her head to help with dryness.
Davis’ and D’Amelio’s strange behavior caused buzz on the internet, but today (Feb. 13), the truth behind their stunts was revealed. The stars are ambassadors for CeraVe, which is employing its usual mix of pranks, parody, and entertainment to unveil its first haircare line.
The L’Oréal-owned skincare brand is breaking into the haircare category with its new anti-dandruff and gentle hydrating shampoos and conditioners. Its three-part campaign, created by agency team WPP Onefluence and led by Ogilvy PR, aims to destigmatize dandruff and scalp conditions, while educating people that “the scalp is actually skin” and should be cared for with the same rigor, said Kelly Buchanan Spillers, CeraVe’s global head of digital and social.
To broadcast its message during a cultural moment, CeraVe has collaborated with NBC’s Saturday Night Live to co-create one of the commercial parodies common in the show. The sketch features SNL stars Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman as members of a metal band called “Naumôre Dandruf,” whose headbanging antics send dandruff flying. Their drummer, dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portella, helps them out with CeraVe’s haircare products.
“We knew CeraVe could talk about a taboo topic in a unique way,” said Buchanan Spillers, who pointed to the statistic that 1 in 5 Americans have dandruff. “We wanted to treat dandruff in a fun and playful way, not making fun of the fact that people have it.”
Building buzz and tricking fans
Keen observers of CeraVe will notice a similar marketing playbook in “Head of CeraVe” to the brand’s 2024 Super Bowl campaign, “Michael CeraVe,” which gained acclaim including a Cannes Lions Social & Influencer Grand Prix.
Last year, CeraVe enlisted Michael Cera and numerous influencers to spark rumors that the actor was a skincare influencer with ties to the brand, finally revealing the joke during its first Super Bowl commercial.
CeraVe didn’t buy another Super Bowl ad this year, but it built buzz in the period surrounding the game “to trick people into thinking we were walking into the Super Bowl and leave them wanting more,” Buchanan Spillers said.
Plus, the brand could forego the $8 million cost of a Big Game ad because, with last year’s campaign, the “lead-up to the Super Bowl was equally as viewed as the Super Bowl ad itself,” Buchanan Spillers revealed. “The campaign worked if you only saw the lead-up, and it worked if you only saw the spot.”
“What we learned, which we’re leveraging now, is that you can get as many eyeballs as long as you design a strategy to hit multiple audiences in multiple ways,” she continued.
Another lesson from “Michael CeraVe” was that “the internet will do the work for us,” Buchanan Spillers said. So like last year, CeraVe enlisted famous ambassadors–Davis, D’Amelio, and UConn basketball player Paige Bueckers–to stage awkward and playful moments in public that would spark conversation about CeraVe online before the ad launched.
In their stunts, Davis and D’Amelio have talked about how they apply moisturizer to their scalps to help with dandruff, which Buchanan Spillers said is a common habit that people talk about on social.
During SNL’s 50th anniversary special, CeraVe will reveal an alternative solution to dandruff with its shampoos and conditioners developed with dermatologists. The ad will kick off the next phase of CeraVe’s campaign, which is educating people about scalp issues.
The “heads of CeraVe” Davis, D’Amelio, and Bueckers will appear on social media and podcasts to talk about the haircare line. CeraVe also partnered with more than 70 influencers, including dermatologists and creators from sports, media, and pop culture, to create educational and entertaining content.
The final phase of the campaign is audience participation. Between Feb. 17 and March 12, the brand will hold a contest inviting anyone to become a head of CeraVe. By uploading a .5 selfie or video sharing a scalp story, participants will compete to become a brand ambassador and win prizes.
“Heads of CeraVe” is the latest example of an approach the brand calls “medutainment,” or a blend of medical education and entertainment. In January, CeraVe enlisted dozens of influencers to remix the jingle from its “Hey It’s Me” commercial, which had become a running joke on TikTok.
Last year, after “Michael CeraVe,” the brand also created romcom and soap opera spoofs to promote its products.
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