The beauty industry is navigating a tricky balance right now. Market growth is slowing and consumers are increasingly skeptical of traditional marketing campaigns. McKinsey’s latest State of Beauty report makes it clear: “brand marketing can help rebalance the scales, but only if beauty players can be truly original.” At the same time, according to a recent industry survey, 60% of beauty marketers struggle to measure what’s actually working. Even worse, 43% say they don’t have the right tools to assess campaign impact accurately.
So when MAC launched their “I Only Wear MAC” campaign this September, featuring nine faces wearing nothing but foundation, shot in black and white by Inez & Vinoodh, it raised a question: can simplicity cut through in a market drowning in content?
The answer came fast: in just five days, the campaign generated a total of $4.9M in Media Impact Value® (MIV®)—Launchmetrics proprietary metric that assigns monetary value to brand exposure across print, online and social channels.
In this blog, we go beyond the number itself by delving into how MAC achieved their MIV and where campaign value really comes from.
MAC Taps Kris Jenner and Doja Cat to Drive the Launch
The cast rollout was deliberate. MAC started with teasers before revealing the full campaign.
Kris Jenner kicked off the campaign on MAC’s Instagram on September 16. Over just three days, her teaser generated $1.9M in MIV. Doja Cat appeared next on September 19, adding another $1.3M MIV across the teaser period. By the time the full nine-person campaign dropped on September 23, Influencers and Media were already talking. On launch day alone, the campaign launch post featuring Doja Cat hit $397K MIV—35 times the value of one of MAC’s average Instagram placement.
Why does this phased approach matter? According to our Brand Ambassador Marketing 2025 report, 46% of brand ambassador placements usually drop within the first 24 hours, creating a big burst in attention followed by silence. That wasn’t the case for MAC, as their phased approach kept them in the conversation across multiple news cycles instead. Each teaser created momentum, the full reveal captured attention and the conversation kept going.
But sequencing only works if people care about what you’re revealing and the creative concept has to be worth the wait.
Creative Concept as Conversation Starter
Nicola Formichetti took over as MAC’s Global Creative Director in 2025 with a clear vision: strip everything back. Interestingly, his first campaign for the brand challenged every maximalist trend in beauty marketing right now.
“I see MAC as a cultural brand,” Formichetti told WWD. “We did all of this in black and white with Inez & Vinoodh to create iconic visuals that are both breathtaking and timeless. They could be from the ’90s, they could be from the future.”
The lighthearted and relatable “I Only Wear MAC” message aligned well with the brand’s simplified approach. Simultaneously, MAC’s strategy for its creative assets was equally deliberate. Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois, MAC’s SVP and Global General Manager, explained: “For super upper-funnel, it’s going to be black and white, because the message is about the brand. As you’re moving down the funnel or you go to our website, the conversion assets, you’ll see some pictures in color.”
What happened next is where most brands miss the full picture of how their campaigns actually perform.
Where MAC’s Campaign Value Actually Came From
Most campaign ambassadors didn’t post on their own channels during launch week. Kris Jenner and Doja Cat appeared almost exclusively through MAC’s Owned Media. The remaining seven stars from its roster were also featured primarily in MAC’s social media, rather than their own.
The breakdown across Voices: 72% of MIV came from MAC’s Owned Media, 21% from Infuencers discussing the campaign, 6% from Media coverage and just 1% from Celebrities posting directly.
This is the opposite of what typically happens. According to our Brand Ambassador Marketing 2025 report, 77% of impact in ambassador campaigns usually comes from the ambassadors themselves. MAC flipped this: they drove 72% of value through brand-owned activation instead of relying on Celebrity posts.
If MAC had measured this the way most brands do—tracking only what ambassadors posted—they would have captured 1% of the actual value.
This is the gap that the aforementioned 60% of beauty marketers struggle with. Most brands track engagement on ambassador posts and call it campaign performance. But the complete picture includes what the brand posts, what media covers, what other influencers discuss and the broader conversation that gets sparked.
Why the Ambassador Mix Mattered
Not all ambassadors serve the same purpose and MAC’s cast reflected that.
Kris Jenner and Doja Cat drove pre-launch reach with $3.2M MIV combined. Post-launch, Bach Buquen led with $1.3M MIV, Gabbriette added $467K, Amar Akway $418K. The other faces: Kiko Mizuhara ($438K), Kristen McMenamy ($436K), Devyn Garcia ($484K), Cortisa Star ($428K) and dance duo Jaxon and Joaquín ($494K) brought global representation and different demographics.
Bach Buquen generated higher MIV than several major ambassadors. The takeaway: choosing the right Voices supported by a strong content strategy can outperform Celebrity reach alone.
Building on its long-standing inclusive ethos, MAC’s “I Only Wear MAC” campaign brought that message into a new era. Beyond its 78 foundation shades, its casting of Kiko Mizuhara alongside a globally diverse lineup spoke to a shift in where influence originates, as APAC talent now accounts for 46% of the year’s leading brand ambassadorships.
What Type of Content Drove Results
The highest-performing posts broke away from traditional beauty content.
Dominic Skinner, MAC’s Director and Make Up Artist, generated $380K MIV from two posts showing him working backstage during fashion week. Bach Buquen’s test of the foundation’s sweat resistance hit $298K MIV with 266,000 engagements.
Product demonstration content outperformed static beauty shots. This tracks with broader industry patterns: our data shows that 47% of ambassador conversations center on lifestyle and audience connection rather than product specifications. The technical attributes matter: 78 shades, 24-hour wear and sweat resistance, but they need real world context to generate conversation around their product. MAC demonstrated those claims through content that showed the product actually working.
What Beauty Marketers Should Take From This
- Strategic sequencing extends campaign momentum: MAC’s phased reveal kept them in the conversation across multiple news cycles, instead of creating a single spike. Portfolio strategy outperforms single-star reliance: Kris Jenner and Doja Cat drove initial reach but Bach Buquen led post-launch performance. Mixing megastars with culturally relevant tastemakers serves different campaign objectives at different stages.
- Complete measurement is non-negotiable: MAC’s 72% Owned Media Share of Voice demonstrates that tracking only direct ambassador posts captures a fraction of actual value. Understanding the full ecosystem—what the brand posts, what media covers and what other Voices amplify—reveals true ROI.
Learn More About Brand Ambassador Marketing
Beauty brands invested $7.1B in influencer marketing last year, yet 43% of marketers say they still lack the tools to measure ambassador impact accurately. At Launchmetrics, our Brand Performance Cloud helps brands see where value truly comes from—across Owned, Influencer, Celebrity, Media and Partner Voices—so teams can understand how each contributes to campaign success.
To learn how to measure ambassador performance with precision, download our Brand Ambassador Marketing 2025 report.
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