Maybelline needed to ramp up its New York credentials to appeal to busy millennial women in China, and prove they were the best partner for every girl’s life in the big city.

The makeup landscape has become more cluttered – young women especially in big tier 1 cities have been bombarded with options. Just between 2015 and 2017, there has been a 24% increase in the number of cosmetics players in China and an estimated 11% increase in media spending.

Maybelline used to dominate the big cities, but it has been drowned out by challengers, so we needed a way to cut through especially in Shanghai, which has consistently been one of Maybelline’s top 3 cities that drive overall sales.

Given the very busy lifestyle of young women in these big cities, taking a lot of time in the bathroom to do makeup in the morning has become a luxury. Transport-friendly makeup has become a necessity.

Commuter cosmetics has taken over big cities like New York and Shanghai as articles from media outlets talk about techniques on applying makeup while on the way to work – even Hollywood celebrity Drew Barrymore instagrammed a picture of her putting mascara in the subway with the caption #commuterbeauty.

Millennial women have become so adept at makeup on-the-go that it has become a bragging right in the office – perfectly applying mascara and lipstick on a moving vehicle demands great skill.

We wanted to cut through in Shanghai, but also create an initiative which can be amplified across China.

Therefore, we mounted the “Makeup on the Way” challenge, a 6-episode branded variety show.

True to Maybelline’s famous tagline, young women in Shanghai had to “Make It Happen” and were challenged to apply makeup while inside a moving vehicle.

To further drive Maybelline’s linkage with its iconic feature: New York credentials, our vehicle of choice: the New York yellow taxi cab.

Each episode of this series was hosted by famous celebrity Jolin Jin and featured ordinary girls in Shanghai.

Maybelline showed women the best approach to do makeup inside the taxi and prove that their products are perfectly suitable for doing so.

Maybelline asked girls in Shanghai to sign up online for a chance to participate in this first-ever makeup challenge.

When a participant was selected online, she got invited into the taxi to complete a “makeup on the go” task using Maybelline products. Each participant had to do her full makeup during the 15-minute taxi ride around the city.

The host helped present how Maybelline could be the best partner for a quick but perfect makeup application.

After completing the challenge, the participants were also invited to a special Maybelline studio where a professional makeup artist elevated and finished their cosmetics application.

Though the actual challenges were only in Shanghai, the recorded variety show was put all over Maybelline’s social media platforms.

“Makeup on the Way” became a hit.

Over 17,000 women in Shanghai registered to be considered for the 6-episode slots.

The series got 1 million views on social media, 20% more compared to the average Maybelline branded content.

Likes, comments and shares reached a combined 6+ million.

Show viewers responded with “it’s a really good tutorial of doing makeup on the way, and I learned a lot of makeup skills.” The practicality of Maybelline makeup as a commuter-friendly product drove interest among viewers.

The campaign is set to become long-term as new episodes are on the way for 2019 – with plans for amplification in more social media channels and mobile apps.

But just since the show’s first season, Maybelline already received a strong 12% sales uplift for the first half of the year.