The Fall of Influencer Branding

Influencers have paved the way for a few of the biggest beauty brands we know today. However, these brands’ demise has been the use of influencers in their ad campaigns. So, what happened? Let’s explore a few instances before I give my analysis on what went wrong.

Let’s go back to 2016 when beauty gurus dominated the YouTube space. These gurus paved the way for what we know influencers to be today. The idea of influencers was still fresh, & it was exciting to watch someone who felt more relatable & reliable than a celebrity. Two influencers in particular to highlight are Jaclyn Hill & James Charles. Both influencers heavily endorsed Morphe Cosmetics & promoted their discount codes to millions of watchers. Eventually, Morphe would produce palettes in partnership with Jaclyn & James. It was a win-win situation for both Jaclyn, James, & Morphe…until it wasn’t.

Fast-forward to 2019, only three years later, Morphe would cease production of all Jaclyn Hill palettes. The reason? Jaclyn launched her own lipsticks, without Morphe’s name on it, consisting of bad batches. These bad batches had hair contaminated within the lipsticks, which understandably caused backlash on Jaclyn, as well as Morphe. Morphe would face the same fate two years later, in 2021, with James Charles. Allegations of sexually explicit messages James had with underage boys became public, & James admitted to his doing in a YouTube video titled ‘Holding Myself Accountable.’ The controversy caused Morphe & James to mutually agree in cutting ties to each other due to the backlash both faced. There’s been a multitude of other controverises & scandals associated with Morphe’s choice in influencers, & Morphe actually filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Although Morphe has recently found success in their rebrand, other brands didn’t learn from Morphe’s previous mistakes.

E.L.F. Cosmetics, or ELF, is notorious for their dupes of luxury & prestige products at a fraction of the cost. It’s a brand that I’ve recommended numerous times to anyone looking for quality products at an affordable price. ELF has positioned themselves as forward-thinking & progressive as well. Speaking up & fundraising for women’s issues, including domestic violence, further attracted ELF’s main audience & demographic of women. However, that’s recently changed with a new ad campaign. The campaign featured Matt Rife, a comedian, who has used women’s issues, including domestic violence, as the butt of his jokes. Although he is not considered an influencer, he still has influence in the realm of social media. The issue at-hand here for ELF consumers is simple: Matt Rife doesn’t align with ELF’s image of being progressive for women’s issues. It seems tone-deaf on ELF’s part, but it’s another lesson to be learned within the beauty industry.

Here’s my analysis: there’s definitely been a shift in how we view influencers, or those with influence, since beauty gurus first arose ten years ago. Influencers appeared more personable & reliable with their recommendations in the beginning, but there’s more distrust & skepticism now. Its vital brands actually access an influencer in terms of their content, audience, & character. We know better an audience & consumer to buy into just any influence.