How NYX Professional Makeup is partnering with Ulta to turn its Super Bowl commercial into a 360-degree activation

“We’re really excited to engage with our community in this new way and to bring new audiences to the brand,” Yasmin Dastmalchi, general manager USA at NYX Professional Makeup, told Glossy. 

The commercial is based around the brand’s Duck Plump Extreme Plumping Gloss. The product, which is available in 18 shades, retails for $13 and is available for purchase via Amazon, Ulta Beauty and NYX’s e-commerce site. 

The commercial stars Cardi B and, as of Wednesday, has been teased across NYX’s social platforms. The commercial “aims to flip the script on male stereotypes with a humorous look at the extreme plumping sensation of the gloss, which will leave audiences laughing,” according to the press release. 

The 30-second spot will air during the second half of the game, after which a full-length cut will be released on NYX’s social media platforms.  Current teasers include Cardi B inspecting the gloss while reciting her TikTok-famous phrase, “That’s suspicious.…”

To build a 360-degree campaign from the small spot, NYX is working with Ulta Beauty. For example, in the commercial, Cardi will wear a special shade created for her called Cherry Spice. It was launched on Ulta’s and NYX’s sites on February 1, but will not be available on Amazon. 

The campaign marks Cardi B’s first-ever beauty partnership. “NYX is a brand that I’ve used since high school and that’s why it’s so special to partner with them for this campaign,” Cardi B said in a press release.

NYX is also rolling out experiential events at Ulta stores across the country. The first events took place this weekend at five Ulta Beauty locations, including a store in Las Vegas, not far from Allegiant Stadium. Customers were able to interact with the gloss, take photos and win free products.

For the commercial, NYX worked with its existing creative agency, McCann New York on creative and production services. The agency enlisted award-winning directing team Quinn Katherman and Paul Hunter of Pretty Bird. 

At the time of this story’s publication, NYX has 781,000 TikTok followers and the hashtag #DuckPlump has been viewed more than 40 million times. On Instagram, NYX has 14.5 million followers and the hashtag #NYX aggregates more than 7.9 million posts. 

To learn more about the Super Bowl spot, and how the brand will get more mileage out of the 30-second commercial, Glossy chatted with NYX’s Dastmalchi.

Congratulations on NYX’s first Super Bowl advertisement! Why did the brand decide to do this advertisement now? 

“It is absolutely a very exciting time. The brand has always been rooted in entertainment, and it is our 25th year, so we wanted to celebrate in a big way.  [We wanted to] bring entertainment together [with something] big, so we thought, ‘Let’s join the biggest entertainment stage there is!’ We wanted to create something that was bold and fun and funny. And we wanted to be part of this big pop culture moment.”

How did you decide between brand marketing, especially with the big anniversary this year, and focusing on one product, like the Duck Plump gloss that you’re promoting in the commercial? 

“From a product point of view, we’re America’s No. 1 gloss brand [according to Nielsen ratings], and we’re super excited to have this new innovation called Duck Plump. We listen, engage and communicate with our community, and when we took up this endeavor, it was really about continuing to surprise and delight. We thought, ‘Let’s bring entertainment and sports together.’ But the crux of it was to create something that was really about entertainment. When we worked on the concept, it was about tackling it in a unique way. The big game was traditionally male-dominated, so how do we celebrate the power of women and bring them into this? So you’ll see some ‘women-splaining’ in NYX’s 30-second spot.”

Why not just do a spot about gloss then? 

“We’ve held that No. 1 gloss position, and we wanted to give our newest innovation [in the category] a stage. Plumping is a big part of [NYX’s] trend innovation. Since we dominate the gloss category, we want to continue to feed that.” 

Super Bowl ads are notoriously expensive. Walk me through the overall strategy behind the spot and how you think of ROI. 

“We’re looking at various KPIs, but really, it’s about brand awareness and introducing the brand to new audiences while entertaining them. So we will continue to look at the impressions and, of course, the engagement with the brand as a top priority. Then, of course, we’ll continue to look at the sales and monitor that.”

How does NYX plan to get extra mileage out of the commercial? What plans do you have to tease the spot before Sunday and promote the spot after Sunday? 

“It’s a whole 360-degree activation. We’ve partnered on various levers across the marketing spectrum. Social media will play a huge part in digital being at the core of how NYX engages with our community. So you’ll see teasers and other bits and pieces throughout social and various channels like Instagram and TikTok. In various parts of the country, we are also including some experiential elements throughout the experience, [similar to] our Ulta Beauty tailgate event this weekend , which will continue after the game. Then, of course, we’ll have activations at the game. We will also be fully cross-promotional, not just on our own channels but also with our influencer partners, Ulta Beauty and other talent.”

Will the ad be running after the game, as well?

“[The Super Bowl ad is] a regional buy, not just during the big game. It’ll also run on various social media platforms [and on streaming platforms].”

How did the partnership with Cardi B come to be?

“Cardi B has been a huge fan of the brand for years. She was introduced to the brand in high school and she’s been someone that has had a connection throughout the years. When we were entering the big game and thinking about how we wanted to create something entertaining, she stood out as someone for us to partner with to create a really wild moment. Cardi is bold and she’s funny and she’s a woman who empowers others. In that way, when you think about her authentic self, it aligns beautifully with the brand.”

Any last teasers that we can expect this weekend? Can we expect any unexpected celebrities or guests to join Cardi in the commercial?

“Cardi B will be a key focal point for us. But you’ll see the spot is championing self-expression and diversity. … I don’t want to give too much away, but you will see some fun, bold and really relevant moments that I hope are things that everyone enjoys.”