Revlon hires Terri & Sandy to reinvent four legacy brands
As it looks to build on its transformation following bankruptcy, cosmetics maker Revlon has hired independent shop Terri & Sandy to lead creative for four key brands.
Terri & Sandy will manage beauty and personal care brands Almay, Mitchum, Creme of Nature and American Crew. The agency will produce digital-first campaigns in a bid to attract younger consumers to what Revlon Chief Digital Marketing Officer Kelly Solomon called “legacy brands.”
All four of the assignments were awarded following a seven-week competitive review handled by search consultancy Creative Haystack. A range of agencies previously worked on the brands.
“There’s a huge market of younger generations that don’t know these brands,” said Solomon, adding that Revlon won’t “neglect our loyal users that are already in love with these products.” (Revlon was No. 2 in the latest Ad Age-Harris Poll rankings on brands getting attention from baby boomers.)
Solomon pointed to Terri & Sandy’s work on Aspercreme Dry Spray as an example of how the shop helped an “iconic legacy brand” reinvent the way it went to market.
It also didn’t hurt that every person on Terri & Sandy’s team wore Revlon lipstick when they first met the brand. “I greatly appreciated that,” Solomon said. “It’s something to remember.”
This is one of the first wins for Terri & Sandy under President Peyton Sutton, who joined in May following co-founder Terri Meyer’s retirement. The agency has also recently added online skincare platform Curology and its sibling brand Agency, along with Dewey’s Bakery.
The broader strategy
Revlon filed for bankruptcy in June 2022 after struggling to tap into a broad cosmetics sales boom fueled by social media influencers. It emerged from Chapter 11 just under a year later after cutting more than $2.7 billion in debt, with longtime owner Ron Perelman’s 85% ownership stake wiped out in the process.
Since then, the company has made a slew of executive appointments, including naming a new North America president, Geralyn Breig. In hiring Solomon from snack bar maker Kind earlier this year, Revlon aims to be more digital-first with its marketing.
Terri & Sandy will begin by producing four projects designed to showcase the brands’ equities, aiming to “move quickly to change the trajectory of the business,” according to Solomon. The work is expected to debut next year.
Almay is a hypoallergenic makeup for sensitive skin; American Crew offers grooming options for men; Mitchum is a deodorant and antiperspirant brand; and Creme of Nature is a Black-founded and Black-led brand designed specifically “for coily, curly and wavy hair,” according to Revlon.
The four brands had U.S. measured-media spending of $2.9 million in 2023, up from about $300,000 in 2022, according to figures from Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. Revlon overall posted measured-media spending of $37.7 million in 2023, up 43% from 2022.
Revlon’s in-house shop manages the namesake brand’s creative efforts, a move the company made in 2018 after a year of working with WPP’s Grey. Horizon Media oversees media for Revlon’s full portfolio of brands, according to Solomon.
Other brands in Revlon’s portfolio include Sinful Colors, Cutex and Elizabeth Arden.
