CeraVe is the #1 dermatologist-recommended skincare brand in the US. But competitors were stealing CeraVe's core claim that they are developed by Dermatologists.

So CeraVe was headed to its first ever Super Bowl to (1) mint CeraVe as THE brand developed with Dermatologists and (2) elevate CeraVe from a cult, niche social following into a cultural phenomenon all around the world.

But people watching the Super Bowl want celebrities and comedy. Not dermatologists and ceramides. And CeraVe wanted to become a cultural icon without compromising their core values.

To achieve this, CeraVe set the following KPIs: 1B impressions, 50 articles, 74k website traffic, +3% audience growth, and Top 10 share of voice during the game.

(All of which the campaign achieved and then some).

A traditional campaign about dermatologists and ceramides would be ignored. We needed a way to use a celebrity while hero'ing dermatologists. So we created a conspiracy that CeraVe was developed by Michael Cera (same name.. baby-soft skin... you get it...)

This breakthrough idea was risky– especially for a quiet skincare brand. CeraVe couldn't even announce it was in the Super Bowl.

So we changed the game and wrote a new playbook with a four-week first-of-its-kind conspiracy. Because Michael isn't on social media, we orchestrated the conspiracy with four hero influencers, social and PR-partners. The brand “fought back” with owned-channels.

The idea organically took off everywhere. 400+ influencers organically joined in. It went viral across TikTok, Instagram, X, and Reddit. It was meme'ed, debated on podcasts... It resulted in 15.4B impressions BEFORE the commercial even aired. The "Perfect" (Today) campaign culminated with a Super Bowl commercial setting the record straight.

CeraVe has a niche, cult following on TikTok. But the core consumer base was 78% women, average age 40+. To become a cultural icon, CeraVe wanted to grow the audience to have mass appeal including Gen Z and men– while still appealing to their base consumer.

Our strategic insight was that Dermatologists are the celebrities of CeraVe, NOT a celebrity A-List spokesperson.

We had a huge challenge: how do you sell in a conspiracy without lying to journalists? (Which we never did).

Our PR earned media approach brought media into the fold and let them actively participate, resulting in more authentic and compelling coverage that resonated deeply with audiences. That started with calculated "paparazzi" leaks to tabloids like Daily Mail. As the story escalated, we leveraged cultural interest and our key influencers to secure coverage within lifestyle and entertainment publications, culminating with an exclusive NYTimes piece to reveal the truth.

Our conspiracy started 4-weeks prior to the Super Bowl. It rolled out over three acts via social, influencers and PR: (1) fake news campaign (2) public fight between Cera and CeraVe (3) Big Game resolution.

It began when @HayleeBaylee "spotted" Cera signing CeraVe bottles. Then we "leaked" paparazzi photos (front page Reddit / Daily Mail). Michael sent out "bootlegged" PR boxes. He walked off an interview with @BobbiAlthoff. We planted seeds across every social channel (X, IG, TikTok, Threads, Reddit). As the campaign escalated, we had the brand use owned-channels and an army of dermatologists to fight back, culminating with a NYTimes exclusive.

Then, when the whole world was debating the skincare conspiracy, we made our message clear in front of a record setting Super Bowl audience. CeraVe's Super Bowl commercial (which we never announced) set the record straight and secured CeraVe as a cultural icon.

Overall objective: Elevate CeraVe to the status of cultural icon.

Result: #1 SB Campaign (GQ, Forbes, Adweek, Adage)

Result: Most moisturizer sales in CeraVe history (*for one-week)

Goal: 1B earned impressions

Result: 32B earned impressions (15.4B BEFORE the Super Bowl)

Goal: Top 10 share of voice (based on earned engagement during game)

Result: #1 share of voice

Result: 2.4X amount of engagements of all other health and beauty brands in the Super Bowl… COMBINED!

Goal: Most talked about brand on social

Result: #1 most effective brand on tiktok (David), trended on X / Tiktok, Reddit front page, highest ever performing brand meme on FJerry

Result: 400+ organic influencers

Goal: 50 articles

Result: 2K+ articles

Goal: +3% audience growth

Result: +5% audience growth (“Dammit it worked…I’ll go pick up a bottle” – @huhzonked)

The month-long “ultra-meta, multipronged campaign” (NYTimes) was hailed as a “masterclass” (Adweek).