'Maybe it's Maybelline' returns for TikTok

Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe I don’t even need to finish the tagline because you already know the rest.

Yeah, iconic.

Gen Z will never know what it was like to have one of the most recognisable phrases in marketing stuck in your head all day long.

Or…maybe they will.

Because the Loreal-owned beauty brand is bringing it back.

Maybelline New York is revamping 'Maybe it’s Maybelline' as a jingle tailored to social media, according to a press release on September 3rd.

The brand launched the new campaign on TikTok in a video featuring an array of stars. Gigi Hadid, Storm Reid, Peggy Gou and Shay Mitchell remix the phrase with their own version on a FaceTime-style call.

Their remixes are things like:

Maybe it’s just really good lighting. Maybe I’m obsessed with the Maybelline ‘Sun Kisser Blush.’ Maybe it’s the baseline. Each one attempts to capture the changing faces of Maybelline New York.

The choice to do a TikTok-focused campaign highlights the importance for beauty brands to be harnessing the power of social media.

You’d be lying if you said you had never considered or perhaps even bought a product because you saw it on social media.

According to TikTok research, 71% of beauty users say the platform has a direct influence on the products they use in their beauty regime. A quarter reported having bought a beauty product they’ve seen on the app and a majority of these purchases being spontaneous.

This is the 'TikTok Made Me Buy It' phenomenon described by The Influence Agency. This is this idea that, 'the magnetic influence of a viral TikTok product that was clearly powerful enough to reel [them] in,' resulting in a purchase.

Brands like e.l.f Cosmetics and Huda Beauty have long ridden the wave of popularity on the platform. So it's easy to see why Maybelline has decided to revamp its iconic tagline solely for TikTok.

It’s also a case of good old nostalgia marketing.

Maybelline joins a growing list of marketers dusting off old assets and reinventing them to capture younger consumers.

Because, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

'Our jingle captures the essence of who we are as a brand, embodying self-confidence, authenticity, and empowerment,' said Trisha Ayyagari, Global Brand President for Maybelline New York, in a press statement.

'It has transcended pop culture conversations, decade after decade, and we are thrilled to reintroduce a fun and modernized version to a new generation of cultural innovators.'

'Maybe It’s Maybelline' debuted in 1991 as the tagline we all know to be, 'Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.' And this rose to fame as a tagline we would never forget.

It’s literally ingrained in my childhood. I distinctly remember glancing up at the sky-high lashes on the television and hearing the phrase.

Which probably explains why, despite being over 30 years old, Maybelline retains an 84% brand recall. This proves how the tagline infiltrated pop culture, and hopefully continues to do so today.

Which seems likely, since writing this article, I’ve already got the damn thing stuck in my head.

-Sophie, Writer