Returning to an electrifying partnership announced just in time for the tennis season, elf Cosmetic’s fresh collaboration with Billie Jean King is about much more than just top-rated makeup products. The beloved brand and legendary athlete are joining forces in a just-announced diversity initiative that aims to raise awareness of the lack of women and people of color in corporate leadership positions. Throughout her famed life, King was an outspoken advocate for gender equality, a founder Women’s Tennis Association and consistently uses its success and recognition to fight for fair treatment and representation in various industries. In his fun fresh elf campaign, King is “giving the facts” about the importance – and current lack – of corporate integration for a whole fresh generation.
Full of clever tennis puns and one truly powerful swing, King appears in three different commercial sketches in which he throws a series of balls laced with uplifting facts about the monoculture of American boardrooms. In one of them, for example, he cites research showing that ethnically diverse boards perform better than those without members of a wider origin. It’s a continuation of the work King’s has devoted her life to, and she delivers the information in a direct, positive way.
“The fight for gender equality and inclusion has been the driving force of my life for 70 years,” King shares in a press release. “Change is often a ponderous process, and those in power can implement change more quickly. elf Beauty is leading the boardroom transition and showing us that investments in equality and inclusion will ultimately be rewarded with material results.”
The campaign is part of elf’s larger ‘Board Game’ initiative, which aims to equip companies with knowledge and information on the importance of truly committing to inclusion at a higher level. The fact that King’s fresh partnership coincides perfectly with the anniversary of her legendary “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match at the US Open is also no coincidence. “Billie Jean King is the perfect partner for this initiative,” explains Lisa Lisa Topol, inventive director and managing partner at OBERLAND. “Not only is she a tireless fighter for equality in sports, but she takes the fight wherever it’s needed, even if that means packing a racket and delivering chilly, strenuous facts in the middle of a board meeting.”
It must be admitted – this cooperation is another marketing hit of elf
