Winning Gold at The Drum Awards for Social Media: Celebrity or Influencer Partnership, CeraVe’s ‘Michael Cera Conspiracy’ campaign took a risky yet groundbreaking approach that turned viral buzz into Super Bowl success. Here is the award-winning case study.
CeraVe, the #1 dermatologist-recommended skincare brand in the US, faced increasing competition from brands co-opting their core claim: being developed by dermatologists.
The brand set out to launch its first-ever Super Bowl campaign to reclaim its position and elevate CeraVe from a cult favorite into a global cultural phenomenon. The goals? To solidify CeraVe as a dermatologist-developed brand and appeal to a broader, more diverse audience beyond its niche following.
However, there was a catch – Super Bowl viewers expect big-name celebrities and humor, not dermatologists and skincare scientists. CeraVe needed to balance becoming a cultural icon without losing its core values.
The challenge
In a high-stakes environment like the Super Bowl, CeraVe had …