Merz Aesthetics has enlisted another celebrity to tackle the skyscraper-sized challenge of muscling in on the anti-wrinkle market. Actor and musician Demi Lovato is the latest star to partner with Merz on the multiyear “Beauty on Your Terms” campaign the drugmaker is running in support of Xeomin.
The FDA approved Xeomin, a botulinum toxin that competes with AbbVie’s Botox, in 2011, but efforts to promote the drug have ramped up in recent years. Since 2022, Merz has stepped out of the long shadow cast by Botox by running a “Beauty on Your Terms” campaign aimed at a younger, toxin-naïve audience. Merz sees Lovato, who is known for hits such as the ballad “Skyscraper,” as a good fit for the campaign.
“She absolutely embodies what we mean by ‘beauty on your own terms,’” Roberto Casas, vice president of U.S. marketing at Merz, said. “She is completely true to herself, inside [and] out. Looking at her personal journey, [it’s] so authentic and … she advocates for self-expression and self-care.”
Merz was also attracted by Lovato’s online reach, which Casas said extends to more than 278 million followers across all social channels. Importantly, Lovato’s online fan base skews heavily toward the Generation Z and millennial women who make up Merz’s core demographic. Xeomin content will run across the star’s channels.
Lovato will work with Merz on a Xeomin promotional push that “is not a celebrity campaign as it has been traditionally done in the past,” Casas said. Merz uses the power of celebrity to get attention and drives engagement by partnering with “a large layer” of influencers, the VP said, and through an alliance with Condé Nast that gives it access to the Oscars, Grammys, Pitchfork Music Festival and more.
The collaboration with Lovato is kicking off with a traditional one-minute video. In the ad, Lovato arrives at a photo shoot and explains how she came to use Xeomin to treat frown lines as stylists get her ready to be snapped.
“I think my concept of beauty has changed, because in the beginning I was always trying to please other people with my beauty choices,” Lovato said. “I've spent so much of my life in front of the camera, so I'm always looking for products that help me create a consistent natural look. That's why my dermatologist recommended Xeomin.”
Lovato has released songs with Joe Jonas, who kicked off Merz’s campaign in 2022, and Christina Aguilera, who began lending her celebrity to the brand last year. The three stars are all popular with the Gen Z and millennial women who Merz and Casas have identified as the “fastest growing group in aesthetics.” Faced with AbbVie’s incumbent Botox, Merz has identified that group as a space to grow.