How Elf Beauty Used Super Bowl Ads to Grow from 10% Awareness to 40%

The rising beauty powerhouse, a favorite of Gen Z, released its first Super Bowl Sunday ad in 2023. From a financial perspective, Fields said the company’s confidence in big-ticket Super Bowl investments stems from their long-term impact on brand awareness rather than a focus on an immediate dollar-for-dollar return. Brand awareness was just over 10% five or six years ago, and today it is over 40%.

With only one in three women currently buying elves, Fields sees a big opportunity. Each wave of outreach, she says, gives access to the brand to the two-thirds of women who are not yet customers. About 75% of Elf’s portfolio remains priced at $10 or less, even after a recent price increase in August, a position that Fields said is resonating as consumers become more selective in their spending.

On average, a 30-second Super Bowl ad in 2025 ranged between $7 million and $8 million, this year estimated average at 8 million dollars, The United States today reported.

As a company, elf tracks a wide range of performance indicators. Finance and marketing teams monitor sales trends as well as earned media value, impressions, and social engagement to determine if creative is resonating and being shared organically. These metrics are reviewed before and after each campaign, Fields said, helping the company measure halo effects and refine its approach from year to year. (I sat down with Fields and Kory Marchisotto, SVP and CMO, in 2024 to talk about their partnership.)

This evolution played out on screen. In its first year, elf produced a Super Bowl commercial directed by Jennifer Coolidge, followed in 2024 by its “Judge Beauty” commercial. Last year, the brand eschewed a broadcast ad in favor of a live viewing experience.

Elf’s overall marketing spend is expected to be higher this year than last, with the Super Bowl being just one component and increased investment in international markets and strategic collaborations also contributing, said Fields, CFO since 2019. The company is targeting marketing spend of about 24% to 26% of sales for the year, consistent with its recent trend of reinvesting heavily to fuel awareness and customer acquisition.

This Sunday’s Super Bowl LX ad will feature Glow Reviver Lip Oil, Elf’s best-selling product for the past two years, in a telenovela-inspired format. campaign with Melissa McCarthyNicolas Gonzalez and Itati Cantoral. Hispanic households represent 18% of elf buyers, 29% more than the category average, according to the company.

The ad will air on Peacock and Univision in Mexico during the Big Game, then expand to linear TV and streaming, including English and Spanish platforms. The campaign is also expected to reach fans of Grammy Award-winning artist Bad Bunny, who will headline the halftime show.

The current strategy continues to deliver results. For the quarter ended December 31 elf posted GAAP diluted EPS of $0.65, beating estimates, as net sales increased 38% to $489.5 million. THE addition of Rhode contributed $128 million to net sales, prompting the company to raise its full-year outlook, with forecast net sales growth of 22% to 23% and a higher adjusted EBITDA forecast.

Sunday’s big game will pit the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. Fields said she doesn’t support either team. “I wish the San Francisco 49ers were here,” she said.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
[email protected]

Ranking

Fortune 500 Power Moves This Week:

Prashanth Mahendra-RajahCFO of Uber Technologies (No. 101), will leave office on February 16. will be successful by Balaji Krishnamurthy, Vice President of Strategic Finance. Mahendra-Rajah, who joined the company as CFO in November 2023, will remain at Uber as a senior financial advisor to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi until July 1.

Jamie Millerfinancial and operational director at PayPal (No. 137), was appointed interim CEO. After two and a half years, Alex Chriss left his position as CEO. Enrique Lores, CEO of HP Inc., is set to take over as permanent CEO on March 1. At PayPal, Miller’s remit had already expanded in 2025 to include the role of director of operations. Appointed CFO in 2023, she previously served as global CFO of EY and CFO of Cargill, and spent more than a decade at General Electric, including as CFO and CEO of GE Transportation.

Loek Beckers was promoted to SVP and CFO of McDonald’s USA, (No. 165), starting March 1. Beckers will report to Ian Borden, McDonald’s global chief financial officer. Beckers started at McDonald’s in April 2024 as senior vice president of corporate finance and oversees the corporate controller group, financial planning and analysis, and global tax, treasury and insurance teams. He came to McDonald’s from General Motors, where he held segment CFO roles for GM’s international operations and GM’s joint venture operations in China, as well as several corporate finance positions.

Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column follows leadership changes at Fortune 500 companies:see the most recent edition.

More notable moves this week:

Karen Chan Chi Yin was promoted to financial director of Deswell Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSWL), effective February 2. Chan succeeds Herman Wong, who resigned from his position to pursue other interests. Chan brings over 20 years of financial experience. She first joined Deswell in 2004, serving as CFO of a key subsidiary for four years. She previously held the position of Chief Financial Officer at SIM Technology Group Ltd.

Eric Shultz has been promoted to chief financial officer and principal accounting officer of SIFCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE American: SIF), a manufacturer of machined components and assemblies for aircraft and engine manufacturers, effective February 20. He will succeed Jennifer Wilson, who resigned, according to a press release. SEC Filing. Shultz currently serves as Director of Strategy and Administration and has over 25 years of finance experience. He was previously CFO of Bowden Manufacturing Corp.

Sundip “Sonu” Singh Johl was named executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Ring Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: REI), effective February 27. Johl brings more than 20 years of experience. From 2020 to January 2026, he served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Energy Investment Banking at Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Prior to that, he was Managing Director and Co-Head of E&P at UBS Investment Banking Global Energy Group.

Matt Horvathfinancial director and treasurer of Stoneridge, Inc. (NYSE: SRI), an electronic systems supplier, resigned, effective March 31, to pursue an opportunity in another industry sector. Stoneridge has launched a search to identify a CFO. Until a permanent replacement is named, Robert Hartman, accounting director, will work closely with Horvath over the next two months.

William H. White was appointed financial director of Quantum society (Nasdaq: QMCO), a technology company that provides solutions for unstructured data. White brings more than two decades of experience. Most recently, White served as CFO and Head of Revenue Operations at Emotive, a venture capital-backed SaaS company. Earlier in his career, White was managing partner at Goldblum Lentz & Co.

Big deal

Gallup released its first ever global survey on national priorities. The company asked people around the world what the most important issue facing their country was in 2025, and the answer was the same almost everywhere: the economy. A median of 23% of adults in 107 countries cited the economy as their country’s most important problem. This figure is more than double the proportion citing work, politics or security, the next most cited topics, according to Gallup.

Go deeper

Here are four Fortune weekend reads:

“Tech stocks are entering free fall as traders realize AI has the ability to cut into revenues across the board.“By Jim Edwards

“Goldman Sachs Leads $75M Funding Round for Fieldguide, an AI-Native Accounting and Auditing Platform” By Léo Schwartz

“Meta’s Hyperion AI data center will expand to four times the size of Manhattan’s Central Park“By Sharon Goldman

“Nestlé CEO drinks 8 coffees a day, but says Gen Z employees are his secret to staying sharp by ‘constantly learning’” By Emma Burleigh

Heard

“We’re ready to show off our restaurants, our small businesses, our parks. There will be a lot of traffic this week, but with the economic impacts coming, I think it will be worth it.”

—San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a press conference Monday: Fortune reported. Sunday’s Super Bowl LX will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and the entire Bay Area is bracing for a possible major economic windfall.