Mylee’s new ‘Lasts longer than...’ beauty campaign for the festive period has got people talking.
The nail brand has forgone traditional Christmas advertising, using tongue-in-cheek imagery and bold straplines instead to highlight the staying power of its gel-polish products.
All the out-of-house (OHH) adverts playfully allude to how the gel polishes can last longer than some relationships, delivering “up to three weeks of chip-free wear”.
Two of the adverts show a model’s hand with a perfect red gel-polish manicure holding either frankfurters or a cut open papaya fruit under the tagline ‘Lasts longer than your ex!’
The third advert shows the same manicured hand holding a wilting rose but alongside the tagline ‘Lasts longer than your situationship’.
The concept was designed by Mylee’s in-house brand and creative teams to “disrupt the space and create conversations”, said a company statement.
“We wanted a Q4 campaign that stood out from the norm,” said Mylee Marketing Director Clare Coughlan.
“That breaks the boundaries of beauty advertising, is completely different from all the traditional festive creative out there.
“That creates conversation about the brand and reflects the incredible staying power of our product.”
Coughlan said it also enables the brand to tell multiple stories, “but with the consistent message that Mylee gel-polish is built for real life and to last”.
The ‘Lasts longer than...’ adverts will run at selected TFL and commuter sites across the greater London area throughout November.
Mylee's out-of-house adverts are a playful take on a nail campaign
Beauty’s history with humour
Mylee is not the first beauty brand to use humour to cleverly market its products.
Manscaped partnered with UFC boxing star Derrick Lewis in September, delivering a viral advert for the male grooming brand.
Lewis became an internet sensation at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 229 after delivering a knockout against fellow boxer Alexander Volkov.
During the post-fight interview, Lewis suddenly took off his shorts inside the octagon, stating "My balls was hot”.
Manscaped created an advert off the back of this, where Lewis reveals he has beat his “balls was hot” condition using the brand’s Performance Package 4.0 grooming kit.
The advert has been watched more than 836,000 times on TikTok.
Drugstore beauty brand e.l.f. Beauty tapped comedic actor and White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge to star in its first-ever television advert this year.
The 30-second campaign focused on the brand’s best-selling Power Grip Primer, which customers said is “sticky AF”.
Coolidge took viewers through her experience of applying the product with comedic wit and post-application compares her skin to being dolphin-like.
The video has 2.6 million views on TikTok.
Other notable campaigns from the past include Old Spice’s 30-second ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ advert, starring former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa.
Mustafa speaks directly to the audience, suggesting that if the viewer’s romantic partner smelled like him then they would be transported to a world of “extraordinary” possibilities.
The advert has 61 million views on YouTube.