CeraVe - Michael CeraVe
CeraVe tasked Ogilvy PR with a Super Bowl campaign to dramatically elevate brand awareness and sales. The client wanted to powerfully reinforce CeraVe’s dermatologist-developed origin, cutting through Big Game clutter to become the most talked-about brand. The goal was to generate unprecedented earned media and drive significant sales growth among a broad, digitally-engaged audience.
Creative Idea
CeraVe launched a fake conspiracy that Michael Cera developed the brand, then debunked it to prove its dermatologist origins.
CeraVe created a viral marketing campaign pretending that actor Michael Cera developed the skincare brand. The three-week prank, which involved 450 influencers, built suspense until the Super Bowl commercial revealed the truth that CeraVe was actually developed by dermatologists.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
CeraVe is a science-first brand built on ceramides and dermatologist expertise, possessing a 'serious' reputation and a name that perfectly mirrors actor Michael Cera's surname.
Category
The skincare category relies on earnest clinical claims or glossy celebrity endorsements, while Super Bowl ads typically focus on expensive one-minute spots rather than month-long narrative builds.
Customer
Modern audiences are cynical toward traditional advertising but crave the community and engagement found in 'inside jokes,' internet sleuthing, and participatory viral mysteries.
Culture
The digital zeitgeist is driven by 'stan' culture and absurd celebrity memes, where audiences actively reward brands that can lean into the weirdness of internet lore.
Company
CeraVe is a science-first brand built on ceramides and dermatologist expertise, possessing a 'serious' reputation and a name that perfectly mirrors actor Michael Cera's surname.
Category
The skincare category relies on earnest clinical claims or glossy celebrity endorsements, while Super Bowl ads typically focus on expensive one-minute spots rather than month-long narrative builds.
Strategy:
Weaponize internet lore and celebrity puns to make 'boring' clinical expertise the ultimate punchline of a viral prank.
Customer
Modern audiences are cynical toward traditional advertising but crave the community and engagement found in 'inside jokes,' internet sleuthing, and participatory viral mysteries.
Culture
The digital zeitgeist is driven by 'stan' culture and absurd celebrity memes, where audiences actively reward brands that can lean into the weirdness of internet lore.
Strategy:
Weaponize internet lore and celebrity puns to make 'boring' clinical expertise the ultimate punchline of a viral prank.
Strategy Technique
Exaggerate to Reveal the Truth
The campaign exaggerated a false origin story with Michael Cera. This absurdity dramatically revealed and reinforced CeraVe's true dermatologist-developed foundation.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Prank
The campaign used a three-week fake-out with Michael Cera as the founder. This prank built suspense and shocked audiences, culminating in a Super Bowl reveal of the dermatologist-developed truth.
Explore Technique
