This isn’t your mother’s makeup…unless your mother was PT Barnum’s “Bearded Lady.” Such is the takeaway from Maybelline’s latest Maybelline Partner ad from TikTok, this one featuring an individual with a massive, curly beard, shaved head, and purple dress and necklace testing different shades of its new Super Stay Vinyl Ink Longwear No-Budge Liquid Lipcolor.
Famed Twitter account Libs of TikTok drew attention to the ad in an early morning Twitter post on July 13: “This is a new ad from makeup brand @Maybelline. Drop your thoughts in the comments 👇🏻” Watch it here:
Predictably, commenters were outraged. One, for example, said, “Damn how beauty standards have fallen. I used to buy Maybelline back when Christy Turlington was on their ads and now look at this thing!”
Another said, “Not sure what they are trying to sell but I am not buyin it. So over this crap. Any brand doing this now just screams desperation and I am not going to play into that.”
Replying to that second comment, another commenter argued that it wasn’t desperation but willingness to go along with the agenda that is behind the commercials, saying, “I dont think it screams desperation. I think it’s more following the agenda. These brands have the power and followers to normalise this, have you seen the CK adds? Of those obese trans.. Absolutely horrific. Just trying to normalise it. That’s all”
Still another argued that ads such as this purported Maybelline partner promotion are making American culture revolting, saying, “I become more and more revolted by our culture every single day it feels like.” Similarly, another said, “Well… not buying that anymore. Frikin @Maybelline and their woke nonsense.”
And, of course, there were memes and joke pictures dropped, such as this reference to Dylan Mulvaney:
This isn’t Maybelline’s first promotion with a bearded model. Glamour reported on that first in January of 2017, saying: “Earlier this morning Maybelline announced its new ad campaign for its Big Shot Mascara by Colossal, you know, the one in the golden tube, along with two huge firsts for the brand. Not only has it teamed up with beauty influencers for the first time, this also marks Maybelline’s first-ever partnership with a man as the star of a campaign. And if you’re a fan of Instagram beauty, we know you’ll recognize him: Manny Gutierrez, or you may know him best from his social media handles, @MannyMUA733.”
Glamour, at the time, added, “As we continue to celebrate beauty as a way for women to express themselves, it’s equally important that men have the same right—whether that’s getting the peace of mind of being able to dab a zit with concealer or the freedom to wear a full face and falsies.”
Manny, at the time, said he was “thrilled to be able to work with a global brand like Maybelline that is recognizing male influencer talent and is willing to shine a spotlight on it.”