A Wren Says

It was just a period, a full stop if you will, added into the famous tagline. Plus a little alteration. “Maybe.” With that, Maybelline introduced more than punctuation. It stated a battle that is raging across my LinkedIn feed. Marketers and copywriters are pulling their hair out. “How could you take the iconic and melodic, ‘Maybe it’s her. Maybe its Maybelline,’ and turn it into this start-stop monstrosity?” I’m telling you, the people are mad. This is what happened.

The new tagline reads: “Maybe. We’re Born With It. Maybe. It’s Maybelline.”

There are those who argue that the inclusive beauty standard could have been signaled with just a shift from She to We. And then of course, there are those who say that the problem really is all those periods. They confuse the reader, and make the text clunkier to read. But, here’s what I’ll say: I don’t hate it .

Don’t get me wrong. I, too, think it’s meh. However, I also think that the brand should continue to evolve. As the world changes, so, too, must their marketing approaches. Wanting to hold up multiple standards of beauty is admirable, and it’s necessary in this era of inclusivity. But maybe there were different ways to get there. Maybe the refresh could have been focused on having multiple faces of the brand, demonstrating a spectrum of looks the various models were born with. Or have a “Maybe” campaign, highlighting real women who achieved more than they had thought was possible.

Listen, I’m not a marketer or anywhere on the Maybelline team, but I’ll give them some assurances. Keep trying. It will be hard to top that iconic slogan, but more good marketing awaits in your future.