Morphe Cosmetics brings the drama in Design Army’s holiday makeup campaign

Design Army brings a welcome tongue-in-cheek tone to its bold, stylish campaign for makeup brand Morphe’s new holiday capsule collection, with its meltdown-proof cosmetics helping wearers survive sibling rivalry and cringe moms. Hollywood photographer/director Greg Swales shot the campaign, which is deliciously over the top, from its eye-popping color to suspenseful sound effects. “Since this is a social-first campaign, the series of short videos needed to snag viewers’ attention ASAP,” said Pum Lefebure, chief creative officer at Design Army. “But rather than following the lo-fi iPhone beauty influencer look that’s oversaturated Instagram, we worked super hard to create our own style—making it fresh and unexpected with crazy detailed art direction and craftsmanship. Everything is over-the-top visually exciting: the crazy hair; acting; even the dramatic, classical music and suspenseful sound effects, like the violent pull of the lip gloss stick.” “It’s such a fun spin on soap operas,” said Lefebure. “I love that everything—the tablecloth to the grapes, pies, whipped cream and Jello mold—is inspired by the products’ colors. It’s just a total sensory trip where kooky meets chic.” The campaign extends to retail packaging. “To make it pop—and seamlessly integrate with the TV soap concept—we found inspo from vintage VHS and box sets that used to ‘glitch out’ in multicolored lines,” said Lefebure. “Playing with this holographic effect, we crafted a custom pattern blending Morphe’s ‘M’ and the cosmetics’ palette of hues. Plus, the product’s witty names: ‘Shade Thrower,’ ‘Party Crasher,’ ‘Crowd Pleaser.’” The campaign is appearing everywhere from Morphe’s website to social media, packaging, print ads in Ulta stores, OOH in Times Square and more. See more ads below. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Morphe Cosmetics brings the drama in Design Army’s holiday makeup campaign

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