Cybill Shepherd was one of CoverGirl’s earliest models, appearing in several print and television advertisements for the brands in the 1970s. In contrast to the made-up looking fashion models of the late 1960s, Cybill demonstrated a fresh, wholesome look, appealing to a younger consumer’s taste. Even though its original advertising campaigns called to mind the fashion models on the covers of magazines, the brand has become associated with a “girl-next-door” personality.
CoverGirl marketed the natural look using Cybill’s picturesque face promising that the make-up was “gentle and dermatologist tested.” The commercials illustrated this natural look by featuring Cybill wearing blue eye shadow. The commercial illustrated how effortless it was to put the makeup all using the flawless face of a celebrity. They also featured her eyes on screen with a blue eye shadow capturing the audience with phrases like, “big eyes, innocent eyes, soft eyes, CoverGirl eyes as worn by top model Cybill Shepherd known for her cool clear-eyed look.”
1971 Cover Girl commercial with Cybill Shepherd
The ad went on to dub “want to make the most of your eyes, do it with CoverGirl eyes” as a motto moving forward with the brand. When reminiscing, most females might recall using CoverGirl’s blue eye shadow, a huge trend during that time. The commercial captured the attention of most teens and young women in every household in America at the time.
CoverGirl’s marketing campaign was such a success with Cybill Shepherd that in 1985, they made Christie Brinkley, another supermodel with an easy natural looking face. This type of marketing to the masses earned CoverGirl solid brand equity for years to come.
More recently, CoverGirl uses a similar campaign integrating a “hip appeal” into a new and improved ad campaign with a new tagline, “easy, breezy, beautiful.” Notice even though this tagline is new, it still perfectly illustrates what the faces of CoverGirl from forty years ago portrayed.
New campaigns want to launch accessible, innovative cosmetics now with hip appeal. Again, the purpose is to create iconic products with memorable designs, such as the long-standing number one mascara in a green and pink tube, created to be eye-catching in-store. CoverGirl wants to remain a top contender in the cosmetic industry, where it has remained at the top for many years. They not only have been in the right place at the right time in terms of launching new products, but they keep proving that they can get the job done, and get the product to the masses with high-powered marketing campaigns.
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