CeraVe Won The Super Bowl: Here's What We Can Learn

By Bea Iturregui

We saw the Dun-kings and Beyonce break the internet, but no one won the Super Bowl quite like CeraVe. Ever since Haley Kalil’s TikTok video spotting Michael Cera signing CeraVe bottles at a local Brooklyn pharmacy hit my FYP, this campaign has been my Roman Empire for the past three weeks.

Soon after the first post was made, the internet was quickly flooded with staged paparazzi photos of Cera carrying bags of CeraVe, unboxings of sloppy PR packages plastered with Cera’s face on them, “interview” style content with Cera alongside creators, derms setting the record straight on CeraVe and influencer apology videos about Cera’s involvement with the brand. Sure, I knew it was all part of a larger campaign, but I didn’t care. I was here for every second of it.

When the Super Bowl spot was finally released, CeraVe did not disappoint. Audiences loved the spot, but more than anything, I loved the storytelling. But what made this campaign so different? Influencers and creators led the charge on distribution, or in this case “leaking it.” The story started on social with some of the internet’s hottest names and the brand leaned on creators to bring this to life in a way that was truly ownable. Every creator offered a unique perspective, highlighting the campaign message in different ways. No prescriptive briefs, no overlay branded messaging. “Have fun” and “you do you” was essentially the brief.?

That’s one pivotal reason this was successful. But what’s the rest of the secret sauce?

1. They let influencers have creative control. All assets were edited by influencers, including the assets starring Cera himself. This ensured the content was authentic to the influencer's signature style and wasn’t overly branded. Always trust the creator, they know their audience best.
2. They leveraged a multi-tiered approach. Tapping a combination of celebrity, macro and micro-influencers allowed for mass appeal while also reaching different subcultures.?CeraVe re-engaged their dermatologist partners to act as the authorities on the brand, while also partnering with culturally relevant influencers across different verticals to create content around speculations or unboxings. This allowed certain influencers to maximize reach and impressions and others to maximize engagement and brand equity.
3. They thought about every detail. Did Cera actually need to sign bottles in a Brooklyn pharmacy? No. Did we need to have sloppily wrapped boxes with Cera face tape on them? No. Did we need a tour of Cera’s trailer? Certainly not. But it was the little details that were so beautifully woven together that made this campaign feel as big and fun as it was.

As marketers, we need to remember, that sometimes it’s better to relinquish the creative reigns and let people do the talking for your brand.?“It's one thing for CeraVe to say it, but it's way cooler when other people are the ones saying it,” said Adam Kornblum, senior VP and global head of digital marketing for CeraVe.

CeraVe will continue to live in my head rent-free for the coming weeks. And as for the product, as a long-time CeraVe user, my love for it only got deeper with this campaign.

Cycle is a full-service creator marketing agency. We're not affiliated with CeraVe. If you'd like to explore or chat with us about how we help brands craft breakthrough creator marketing campaigns you can email us directly at [email protected].