A woman’s lipstick choice isn’t just about color; it’s a deliberate statement about what she wants to express in that moment. And in a culture where lipstick is loaded with significance and arbitrary rules—why can’t you wear blue lipstick?—a woman’s lipstick choice is also a commitment to navigating outside attention and reactions.

In this context, COVERGIRL’s new Exhibitionist lipstick line, which featured unorthodox shades and finishes, like metallic blues and matte blacks, was the perfect opportunity for COVERGIRL to at once celebrate bold lipstick choices, while also playfully confronting the made-up cultural conventions around certain shades.

The goal was to position the new collection as an invitation to all women to unapologetically own their shade choices and any attention it may get them without apology.

No one comments on your choice of foundation or mascara. But when it comes to lipstick, everyone has an opinion, and a corresponding stereotype, for every lip color under the sun.

So to promote COVERGIRL’s Exhibitionist range of lipstick shades, we set out to shatter those stereotypes, color by color, with “Shade for Shade:” a short film in which COVERGIRL Tribe member Issa Rae (of HBO’s Insecure) and her real-life BFFs are in the car on a night out in LA. Along the journey, they give each other “shade” (both scripted and improvised) over their shade of lipstick—challenging each shade’s stereotype with a “shady” response.

It’s an infectious, genre-defying ride—challenging preconceptions not only around lip shade but also, in its truthful, semi-scripted, slice-of-life form, notions of how women should be portrayed in makeup advertising.

The long-form nature of the film lent itself well to an owned-plus-earned digital distribution strategy. “Shade for Shade” was housed on COVERGIRL’s organic YouTube channel, with shorter versions designed for social touchpoints (Instagram and Twitter) to get in front of our audience - the Chic Savvy-Shopper.

Mid-20s, and tuned in to pop culture, this lipstick-loving woman wants to bring her exhibitionist side forward and play with new shades and finishes. We knew this style of content played right into her tastes, and we lined up stories with her trusted media outlets to ensure it got front of her. These outlets included BuzzFeed and The Shade Room for the exclusives at launch.

With Issa being such a huge talent with a social media savvy following, we knew that partnering with the right digital outlets would set off a flurry of earned attention from her plugged-in fan base. With our strategic press targets ready to go, the embargos were lifted on July 17, 2018 once the film was posted across COVERGIRL’S organic social channels. The press write-ups combined with the shorter, snappier one-liner versions of films rolling out on social allowed us to reach our audience where they go for content and helped build earned traction for the brand.

Once released, the press pick up spanned a variety of genres from entertainment to lifestyle to beauty. This resulted in 184.9MM+ impressions in the first week of launch, and an earned media value of nearly $1.5MM.