Cultural Storytelling: The Secret Weapon Beauty Brands Are Using to Win Social

If you still think your social strategy is just an afterthought, keep reading..

Our visionary VP of New Business, Jess, recently spotted a game-changing trend in the beauty industry. And here’s the expanded scoop on how beauty powerhouses are flipping the script through cultural storytelling.

With brands turning into full-fledged entertainment powerhouses, e.l.f. Cosmetics and NYX are giving cultural tentpoles like the Super Bowl and Met Gala a complete social makeover.

The ‘e.l.f. Time Show’

Saving on that $8 million price tag against a 30-second slot at the Super Bowl, the beauty brand opted to go social this year. e.l.f. Cosmetics had been advertising at the Super Bowl since 2023 with its iconic ad written by White Lotus’s Mike White, featuring Jennifer Coolidge. This year, the brand hosted a live Super Bowl watch party designed specifically for social platforms.

This move wasn’t a swing in the dark but backed by the stat that 88% of Americans use a second screen during the game. The brand targeted Gen Z and Gen Alpha exactly where they would be second screening, on socials. By meeting their audiences where they were, e.l.f. created an authentic engagement opportunity while maintaining cultural relevance, saving millions along the way. 

Instead of simply joining the Super Bowl chatter, e.l.f. completely reimagined how brands can show up during major events – essentially writing a new cultural storytelling playbook that had beauty brands taking notes.

@elfyeah

get your game face on 🏈 the E.L.F.TIME SHOW 🏈 is coming to you LIVE on February 9th at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT 🙌 with special guests, giveaways and more 👀 tune in on: 📱 @elfyeah on TikTok 🎮 @elfyou on Twitch 📸 @elfcosmetics on Instagram 🤎 amazon.com/elf on Amazon ▶️ @elfcosmetics on YouTube 💻 elfcosmetics.com (for US residents) #eyeslipsfacefandom #PowerGripPrimer #elfcosmetics #elftimeshow

♬ Football Anthem (We Up) – Dot Cromwell & SNC

Nyx Met Gala

With the 2025 Met Gala approaching, Nyx Professional Makeup has already executed a brilliant preemptive strike. The beauty brand rolled out the red carpet, complete with the glitz and glamour associated with the Met Gala. They even managed to tie in the red carpet interviews that we all look forward to.

What makes this approach particularly clever is how NYX has embraced the cultural significance of the Met Gala while adapting it to their own brand identity. Their content features diverse beauty creators showcasing dramatic, avant-garde makeup looks inspired by past Met Gala themes, with playful nods to the event’s fashion sensibilities.

What makes this approach particularly clever is how NYX has embraced the cultural significance of the Met Gala while adapting it to their own brand identity. Their content features diverse beauty creators showcasing dramatic, avant-garde makeup looks inspired by past Met Gala themes, with playful nods to the event’s fashion sensibilities.

@nyxcosmetics_uk

you just had to be thereeee melt gala last night was a movie 🎥 ✨

♬ Montagem Solar Atmosfera (Sped Up) – Ariis & TOKYOPHILE & MC MN

What to Expect in the Future

While beauty brands have previously aligned with cultural moments, the deliberate pivot to creating their own social-first cultural experiences represents a shift in how brands want their audiences to perceive them. 

These forward-thinking brands are now thinking like creators first and foremost, bringing cultural storytelling to the forefront and ensuring it resonates with generations that crave authenticity over polished marketing tropes. We’re moving into an era where cultural storytelling isn’t just nice to have – it’s critical.

Look at Waitrose & Partners and Allbirds taking the route of celebrity dinner parties, featuring unfiltered conversations with a side of food. This format naturally incorporates human connection through the universally relatable power of breaking bread together.

Meanwhile, luxury giants like LVMH and Saint Laurent are leading fashion into the original content era by investing heavily in content studios – a natural evolution given the long-standing synergy between fashion and entertainment.

The brands winning in this new landscape share one thing in common: they control their narrative completely. But the real victory comes when their content stands tall on its own merits. When it doesn’t feel promotional but rather something genuinely worth watching, engaging with, and sharing.

Content may be king, but cultural storytelling? That’s the queen who runs the kingdom.

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@sociallypowerful