While half of NFL fans are female, Super Bowl advertising has historically been male-centric. Olay saw an untapped opportunity to create an ad that spoke directly to these underrepresented female fans that also delivered on the brand’s ability to transform skin in a way that entertains and disrupts.

Ultimately, the Olay #KillerSkin Super Bowl campaign resulted in over 2,100 total media placements and 5.9B impressions, exponentially exceeding the brand’s main media objective.

The overarching PR goal for Olay was to bring representation to the Big Game for the traditionally underrepresented female NFL fans by making a splash with the press during one of the biggest and most cluttered moments of the year with their first-ever Super Bowl ad

To steal the spotlight from the Super Bowl’s usual suspects, Olay embraced Horror, the fastest growing entertainment genre that’s wildly popular with women, and casted Sarah Michelle Gellar, the most beloved horror actress of the millennial generation, to star in the Olay short horror film titled “#KillerSkin.” At the height of the film’s suspense, as Sarah struggles to unlock her phone, she delivers the brand benefit in a hilarious plot twist: “I’ve been using Olay, it has totally transformed my skin. 28 days ago, I looked like that!”

The team created buzz and awareness around the #KillerSkin campaign as any Hollywood film would: by seeding pre-release posters, short-form teasers, and an official trailer to select, influential media ahead of the Big Game. #KillerSkin was launched through a phased approach across paid and earned channels to garner a steady stream of press coverage, with influencers integrated into each key phase to further amplify awareness and views on social media. Our press narrative leaned heavily into Sarah Michelle Gellar’s star power and scream queen roots, as well as Olay’s message of inspiring change at Super Bowl LIII. Through strategic timing of pre-released content, on-site media interviews at Radio Row and national television unveils, paired with a cross-vertical media outreach strategy, the team secured coverage around the ad with a diverse variety of outlets during a crowded three-week media period.

Announcement 1/15: PR announced Olay’s first Super Bowl ad with an AdWeek exclusive. Following, PR pitched media the news that Olay was setting out to change the male-centric ad narrative.

Teasers + Trailer 1/23-1/28: PR secured top-tier media including AdAge, Refinery29, People and Popsugar, to run feature stories including the ad teasers, trailer and announcement that Sarah Michelle Gellar was the star.

Ad Launch 1/30: Olay’s ad was exclusively unveiled on Good Morning America at 8AM to over 3 million viewers. PR supported with media outreach resulting in significant coverage.

On-The-Ground 1/29-2/1: PR facilitated press tours with Sarah Michelle Gellar, and members of Olay’s “Fearless Squad” resulting in coverage on Entertainment Tonight, People, USA Today and more.

Game Day 2/3: Olay dominated online conversation with real-time social content while PR ensured Olay ad inclusion on Good Morning America, Elite Daily, Daily Mail, Forbes, Today.com, Vogue and many more.