E.l.f. Cosmetics is marketing around the holidays with a three-part movie on TikTok. Titled “Big Mood, Big e.l.f.ing City,” the entire film releases today on the brand’s TikTok channel, @elfyeah, and takes advantage of the platform’s new feature allowing for three-minute videos.

The film, developed with Movers+Shakers, is a crowdsourced effort combining major creators like @adamrayokay and @Glamzill with the greater TikTok community. Users were invited to audition for the movie by duetting with the creators, after which videos were selected for the final cut that features trends and viral moments from 2021, as well as memes and platform-native effects. 

See Ad Age's 2021 Marketers of the Year here.

“TikTok creates trends every day, and I think there are some that really stand out that helped us propel our journey into creating this film,” said Patrick O’Keefe, VP of integrated marketing communications at e.l.f.

The brand released a trailer ahead of the film's release. 

The plot of the film follows Ash, played by creator @fiajames, as she tries to make the most of her time in the Big City with friendly “e.l.f.z”— represented by e.l.f.’s core products—and “slay belles” played by fellow creators. “e.l.f. The Hauls,” a holiday album the brand released last year, will soundtrack the film with remixes to classic songs. Actress Sarah Hyland will lend help on TikTok by sharing her favorite holiday movie traditions and wearing e.l.f. products.

Through TikTok’s three-minute feature—released in July—e.l.f. is aiming to weave the year's top trends into a longer narrative than it could with the platform’s standard one-minute (or shorter) videos. Still, the campaign’s success will largely depend on whether users are willing to engage with longer-form content on an app that specializes in short-form content.

“We're leaning in on what's new and current on the platform and testing and learning and figuring out what works [and] what doesn't,” said O’Keefe.

TikTok continues to be central to e.l.f’s marketing as the brand looks for new and trendy ways to connect with its young audiences. Through 2019 and 2020, e.l.f. amassed billions of views that helped it make strides against larger competitors like L’Oréal and Estée Lauder Cos. Its affordability and e-commerce roots also contributed to its success during the pandemic.

See Ad Age’s 2021 Year in Review here.

Elsewhere, the brand has dipped its toes into other forms of digital marketing, such as NFTs. For its holiday campaign last year, it created an original album that scored over 37 million streams across social platforms like Triller, TikTok and YouTube.

“What we learned last year is that entertainment, leaning into music and what makes the TikTok community tick is really what [users] love to see,” said O’Keefe.

Musical partnerships have extended these efforts. In September 2020, e.l.f. inked a deal with Alicia Keys to launch a new skincare line in 2021. It teamed with rapper Tierra Whack this past August for a mascara product titled “Big Mood”— which is referenced in the title of the new TikTok movie, featured in its entirety below.