e.l.f. Cosmetics Taps Joey King and Lucien Laviscount for Ad

E.l.f. Cosmetics is expanding its sports marketing presence with its football-themed “Eyes. Lips. Face. Fandom.” campaign. 

Created in partnership with 72andSunny Amsterdam, the beauty brand recruited The Kissing Booth actor, Joey King, and Emily in Paris star, Lucien Laviscount, for a spot promoting its Power Grip primer. 

The pair play a couple meeting the latter’s parents, avid fans of an unnamed purple football team. King arrives with her face painted half blue, representing her love for her favorite side.

Laviscount’s fictional dad asks if she ever removes the face paint before a montage plays of King doing everyday activities like going to work and working out with the makeup fully intact. She then replies “No, sir,” and slaps a tube of the Power Grip primer on the table.

“We created an entertainingly funny and unexpected ad anchored around the love of the game, and the long-lasting grip of Power Grip primer to help any sports aficionado stick to his or her game face,” Laurie Lam, e.l.f. Beauty’s chief brand officer told ADWEEK.

E.l.f. hopes the spot shows its products have appeal across genders, ages, geographies, and audiences.

It debuted this week during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade which drew in a record-breaking 28.5 million viewers across NBC and Peacock in 2023.

e.l.f.’s gets sporty

“Eyes. Lips. Face. Fandom.” isn’t the brand’s first foray into sports marketing. 

Earlier year, e.l.f. partnered with tennis star Billie Jean King for its “Change the Board Game” initiative which called for diversity in executive leadership and on corporate boards. In August, it also became the exclusive skin and cosmetic partner of the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge (BJKC), the women’s world cup of tennis,f and the largest annual international team competition in women’s sports.

In April, e.l.f. also partnered with race car driver Katherine Legge, becoming the first-ever beauty brand sponsor at the Indy 500. The brand also advertised during the Super Bowl in 2023 and 2024, enlisting celebrities like Jennifer Coolidge, Meghan Trainor, and more.

With “Eyes. Lips. Face. Fandom.,” Lam said the brand wanted to leverage major holiday sports games “to connect with our community.”