The marketing campaign that includes Matt Rife has been branded “rage bait”, with individuals calling Elf Cosmetics “tone deaf” for utilizing the comic.
Magnificence model Elf Cosmetics has come beneath hearth for its advert marketing campaign starring comic Matt Rife, who has beforehand made jokes about home violence.
Elf collaborated with drag queen Heidi N Closet and Rife for its ‘E.l.f.ino & Schmarnes’ marketing campaign, which launched on Monday (11 August). The advert stars the duo as attorneys defending shoppers towards overpriced magnificence merchandise.
The model quickly acquired backlash for that includes Rife, who made a home violence joke in his 2023 Netflix particular. He additionally made jokes concerning the transgender group.
In response to the backlash, Elf Cosmetics launched an announcement in the present day (14 August) stating the marketing campaign aimed to “humorously highlight magnificence injustice”.
Magnificence model Elf Cosmetics has come beneath hearth for its advert marketing campaign starring comic Matt Rife, who has beforehand made jokes about home violence.
Elf collaborated with drag queen Heidi N Closet and Rife for its ‘E.l.f.ino & Schmarnes’ marketing campaign, which launched on Monday (11 August). The advert stars the duo as attorneys defending shoppers towards overpriced magnificence merchandise.
The model quickly acquired backlash for that includes Rife, who made a home violence joke in his 2023 Netflix particular. He additionally made jokes concerning the transgender group.
In response to the backlash, Elf Cosmetics launched an announcement in the present day (14 August) stating the marketing campaign aimed to “humorously highlight magnificence injustice”.
The model admitted it “missed the mark with individuals we care about”, however stopped in need of a full apology. On the time of publication, the advert was additionally nonetheless accessible on its Instagram feed.
The assertion led to feedback from customers calling the model “tone deaf”, with one other saying, “This isn’t an apology. The advert continues to be up, and also you didn’t truly handle the problem in any respect. Do higher.”
Magnificence influencers, together with Alice within the Rabbit Gap, have additionally mentioned they’re boycotting the model, calling the marketing campaign “calculated” and “rage bait”, whereas individuals have shared movies throwing away their Elf merchandise on TikTok.
Elf is understood for its campaigns championing gender inequality. The model is considered one of two publicly listed US corporations out of 4,000 to have a board of administrators made up of 78% girls and 44% numerous illustration.
Campaigns to problem gender dynamics embody ‘So Many Dicks’, a part of Elf’s broader ‘Change the Board Sport’ initiative so as to add extra girls and numerous expertise to firm boards. It exhibits there are extra Richards, Ricks and Dicks on company boards than underrepresented teams.
Talking to Advertising and marketing Week in March, Elf Magnificence’s chief model officer Laurie Lam praised Elf’s concentrate on equality.
“One of many issues I’m truly most happy with with regards to the advertising and marketing staff is the way it has mirrored the various communities that we serve,” she mentioned.
That includes Rife is seemingly a departure from its model ethos. Nevertheless, Elf Cosmetics’ CMO Kory Marchisotto advised The Enterprise of Magnificence that it selected Rife due to his “vital overlap” with the model’s goal feminine Gen Z viewers.
In 2023, Rife, who already had a big social media following, made a joke within the opening moments of his ‘Pure Choice’ particular a few hostess with a black eye.
“My boy, who I used to be with, was like, ‘Yeah, I really feel unhealthy for her, man, I really feel like they need to put her within the kitchen or one thing the place no one has to see her face.’ And I used to be like, ‘Yeah, however I really feel like if she may cook dinner, she wouldn’t have that black eye,’” Rife joked.
Rife responded to the criticism on the time with an Instagram Story aimed toward these offended by the joke. “Faucet to resolve your difficulty”, learn a URL hyperlink, which directed his followers to a web site promoting helmets for individuals with disabilities.
Elf will not be the one model to obtain backlash for an advert that includes a star recently. American Eagle lately sparked outrage across the wordplay in its newest marketing campaign, ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Nice Denims’.
The model’s response to the backlash on Instagram claimed that the marketing campaign “is and was at all times about her denims”, relatively than a direct apology.
