Global beauty brand Maybelline has enlisted QMS Media to create an innovative new campaign showcasing a ‘surreal’ line of cosmetics.

The campaign uses animated 3DOOH anamorphic illusion to bring the brand’s new avatar model “May” to life. 

May was launched alongside Maybelline’s global ambassador Gigi Hadid in a move to merge the real and the virtual for the new Falsies Surreal mascara campaign. Throughout September the virtual reality model will be featured across QMS’ digital large format assets and the City of Sydney network.

DOOH media refers to digital out-of-home media, used primarily for advertising, while 3DOOH adds technology to make digital images appear three dimensional without filters or glasses. Indeed, ‘May’ appears to be reaching out of the billboard to grab the mascara wand, or perhaps offering a hand for us to step into her surreal world.

Maybelline New York marketing director for Australia and New Zealand Alexandra Shadbolt says the new mascara called for an innovative campaign.

“When a mascara delivers a transformation as surreal as this, it takes something just as surreal to launch it. At Maybelline, we love to push boundaries and break new ground, and that is why we turned to QMS to help us bring May to life on the streets of Australia with 3DOOH,” she says.

Maybelline embraces innovative outdoor advertising 

Maybelline is the world’s leading cosmetics brand and is sold in over 120 countries worldwide. The company is known for their eye-catching marketing campaigns.

In July, Maybelline collaborated with London city trains to advertise the Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High product.

The front of trains were adorned with oversize lashes that were swept back by an enormous mascara brush when pulling into platforms at underground stations. The viral outdoor advertising campaign won social media attention for its creativity.

The Falsies Surreal campaign marks the company’s next outdoor campaign, intended to reach a broad audience.

“Out of home is one of the last true broadcast media, enabling brands to influence big audiences through high impact creative executions. The innovation, immediacy and power delivered by DOOH, including 3DOOH, is a key part of the medium’s growth and success,” says QMS chief revenue officer, Alex Kerley.

Outdoor advertising net revenue in Australia increased 27.6 percent to just over $1 billion in 2022, up from an adjusted figure of $831.1 million in 2021, according to the Outdoor Media Association.

In recent months, QMS has also launched 3DOOH campaigns for Adidas, Hyundai, Michael Hill, Tourism SA, ANZ, Coopers and Flight Centre.