Alix Earle & Reale Actives
Okay, I’ll admit it – I got nervous for a second there. After the Taylor Frankie Paul / Bachelorette debacle sent ABC into potential financial freefall (think about all of those sponsors… that’s a PR case study waiting to happen, and honestly? I would love to help write it someday – but that’s a whole other post), I genuinely started wondering if we were about to watch the tide turn on influencer marketing for good. Turns out, I was worried for nothing.
Because Alix Earle (the literal queen of social media) just executed one of the most creative, gamified brand launches I’ve seen in a long time, and I cannot stop thinking about it.
It started (for me, anyway) with a post from Ezra Soza on my feed. Y’all know I can’t get enough of DWTS – no notes. He was holding a puzzle piece. Just… a puzzle piece from a PR box. I stopped my scroll immediately and went down the rabbit hole.
What I found: Alix had launched a brand new TikTok account – @wtfisalixdoing – and had the internet collectively asking “what the f*** is Alix Earle doing” (her words, not mine). She sent puzzle pieces to influencer friends across the country and was having a real-life puzzle assembled on a billboard in NYC. Swimwear? Makeup? Skincare? Hair care? Nobody knew, and that was entirely the point.
(Side note: I love that OOH advertising is having a moment here. We get so tunnel-visioned on digital campaigns that we forget how much unique value a well-placed billboard can add. But I digress.)
In a market that’s entirely oversaturated with influencer product lines, Alix Earle managed to make her launch feel unique, standing out in an epic way. The answer? A skincare brand – Reale Actives – launching next week with four products.
And the branding? Chef’s kiss. The campaign copy on the website leans fully into her “hot mess” persona – “breaking out -> breaking free,” “designed to be out,” “reale you is perfect you” – with product names that work as double entendres. It’s cheeky, it’s her, and it’s authentic to her in a way that a lot of influencer brands just… aren’t. Cheers to Alix for creating a brand that is not only creatively branded, but is a natural extension of the legacy she has created for herself in this space.
This is exactly the kind of campaign that makes me frustrated when people write off influencer marketing as a cheap tactic or a lazy shortcut. Alix Earle proved she has earned her reach – and that she’s willing to be genuinely strategic and creative with it. Marketers are going to be taking notes on this one for a while.
I’m excited to watch what comes next, both from Reale Actives and from the brands this campaign is inevitably going to inspire.
