Big Makeup Brand Faces Boycott Calls for Using Bearded Man in Lipstick Ad

Big Makeup Brand Faces Boycott Calls for Using Bearded Man in Lipstick Ad
A view of Maybelline makeup during New York Fashion Week, in New York, on Sept. 9, 2019. Albert Urso/Getty Images
Tom Ozimek
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Maybelline, the world’s biggest cosmetic brand, is facing a deluge of boycott calls over its marketing partnership with a bearded makeup artist who was featured in an ad trying on lipstick.

The advertisement, which was posted on Maybelline’s Instagram account on July 12 to coincide with Amazon Prime Day, shows social media influencer Ryan Vita promoting the brand’s makeup.

Sporting a bald head, bushy beard, and long fingernails, Mr. Vita applies bright pink lipstick, before pouting, blowing kisses, and talking up the product’s attributes.

The ad, which identifies Mr. Vita as a Maybelline partner, sparked a series of almost universally critical comments on Instagram, with one user writing that “this is unacceptable and very disturbing,” and another saying the ad should come with a warning.

“Maybe it’s mental illness, maybe it’s Maybelline,” another user quipped, playing off the famous Maybelline slogan, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.”

A view of Maybelline makeup products during New York Fashion Week in New York, on Sept. 9, 2019. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
A view of Maybelline makeup products during New York Fashion Week in New York, on Sept. 9, 2019. Noam Galai/Getty Images

“Adding Maybelline to the growing list of companies I won’t buy from anymore,” another user wrote, adding to a growing torrent of calls to boycott the brand over its partnership with Mr. Vita, who has about 1.2 million followers on TikTok.

The clip was posted on Twitter, where it sparked an intense torrent of critical takes, including many calling for a boycott.

Lauren Chen, host of the conservative network BlazeTV, shared the video, with the caption, “Another day, another disturbing make-up ad.”

The post garnered a number of comments, including some making reference to the “go woke, go broke” slogan that has become a hallmark of boycott calls by conservatives who are opposed to corporations pushing what they see as extreme leftist agendas, including transgenderism.

“Maybelline, another ‘Go Woke & Go Broke’ company to add to the ‘Not to sponsor list’! Women, they are taking your place and you are letting them do it!” a Twitter user wrote in a comment.

Maybelline didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.

This isn’t the first time that Maybelline has used men to market its makeup products; the brand used Manny Gutierrez in an ad campaign for mascara in 2017.

However, Maybelline’s latest partnership with a makeup-wearing man comes amid a broader backlash to companies that appear to be pushing transgenderism in the wake of Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a man who identifies as a woman.

Mr. Mulvaney was also featured in a Maybelline ad applying the company’s products in a TikTok video posted in March and later shared by Maybelline on its Instagram account, a move that also triggered calls for a boycott.

Bud Light Backlash

The latest industry figures show that Bud Light’s sales slump deepened into July as the fallout from the brand’s engagement with Mr. Mulvaney continues to strain the brand’s bottom line.
Sales volumes of Bud Light plunged by 23.6 percent in the week ending on July 8, according to NielsenIQ sales data via Bump Williams Consulting.

By contrast, sales of Coors Light increased by 30.2 percent, Miller Lite jumped by 25.2 percent, and Modelo Especial was up by 20.7 percent, the data show.

The latest data show a deepening sales slump that was triggered when the brand rolled out a personalized beer can featuring the face of Mr. Mulvaney.

“This month, I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever—a can with my face on it,” he said on April Fool’s Day.

Mr. Mulvaney, who has more than 10 million followers on TikTok, posted a series of videos plugging Bud Light and showing off the personalized can.

His engagement with Bud Light sparked outrage among many conservatives, some of whom accused the brand of promoting a transgender agenda and called for a boycott.

A six-pack of Bud Light sits on a shelf for sale at a convenience store in New York on July 26, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
A six-pack of Bud Light sits on a shelf for sale at a convenience store in New York on July 26, 2018. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Boycott Calls

A number of prominent conservative figures have called for a boycott over Mr. Mulvaney’s marketing engagement with Bud Light.
Singer Kid Rock used Bud Light cans as target practice to express his anger at the promotional campaign, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would be boycotting Bud Light.

Former President Donald Trump also weighed in on the controversy, suggesting boycotts can be an effective way to send a message to brands that critics say are pushing a leftist agenda.

“It’s time to beat the Radical Left at their own game,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in May. “Money does talk—Anheuser-Busch now understands that.”
The market value of Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch InBev has sunk to about $114.3 billion on July 17, from about $132.4 billion on April 1, the day Mr. Mulvaney trumpeted the personalized can on social media.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told the Financial Times that the boycott was driven by “misinformation and confusion” circulating on social media.

Mr. Doukeris insisted that Mr. Mulvaney’s involvement wasn’t part of an official Bud Light marketing campaign.

“It was one post. It was not an advertisement,” he told the outlet.

Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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