Oberland and Elf Beauty have been honored as one of The Ad Club NY’s Brave Brands for a campaign that leveraged bold humor to spotlight gender and racial disparity in US corporate boardrooms.
Elf: So Many Dicks
When Elf Beauty set out to highlight the lack of diversity in corporate America’s boardrooms, the last thing it wanted was another dry report destined to be ignored. Instead, it teamed up with creative agency Oberland and delivered something impossible to scroll past: ‘So Many Dicks.’
The cheeky campaign highlighted a stark truth – there are more men named Richard, Rick or Dick on US public company boards than there are entire groups of underrepresented people. The message was grounded in real data, but the execution was pure culture-jacking: a playful, eyebrow-raising headline that turned statistics into shareable talking points.
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The spark came during early brainstorming sessions when Oberland recalled a Stanford study noting that there were more CEOs named John than female CEOs. That insight became the springboard. “We wondered if the same was true of Richards and Dicks on boards,” recalls Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at Elf Beauty. “Once we had the data, the lightbulb went off.”
The brief itself was anchored in Elf’s belief that representation isn’t a “nice to have” – it’s a business and cultural imperative. At the time, Elf was one of just four public companies with a board that was two-thirds women and one-third diverse. But Lam and her team didn’t want to be the exception. They wanted to create pressure for change.
Of course, leaning into a word like ‘Dicks’ carried risk. The team debated tone carefully. “We deliberately didn’t say ‘Too Many Dicks,’” says Lam. “We wanted to stay rooted in positivity and inclusion.” The humor was never the endgame; it was the gateway to a serious conversation.
“Once we had the data, we then worked to boldly share the overwhelming dominance of men, specifically ‘Dicks’ on boards, using humor and shock value to make the data undeniable,” Lam adds.
Grounded in unshakable statistics, the campaign walked a fine line between shock and responsibility. By gamifying inequity, it created a moment that was both entertaining and impossible to dismiss.
For Elf, the timing was everything. The brand has delivered 26 consecutive quarters of growth by building a company that reflects the communities it serves. As Lam puts it: “Change doesn’t wait for permission. It demands boldness.”
That conviction powered the decision to take the campaign beyond the beauty aisle and into the heart of corporate America. It wasn’t just about selling makeup; it was about putting pressure on an entire system.
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The results spoke for themselves. Coverage spanned business, advertising and mainstream culture outlets. Social feeds lit up. Conversations jumped from the boardroom to the dinner table. And in the process, Elf cemented itself as a beauty brand with something bigger to say.
Amplification was equally bold. The brand took over New York’s Oculus and Wall Street, before bringing its mission to conferences across the US and internationally. Most recently, it has launched a coalition of disruptors to carry the torch further.
For Lam, the campaign is only the beginning. “This is more than just a campaign; it is an integral part of an initiative with much more to come.”
Elf Beauty and Oberland will be celebrated as one of The Ad Club NY’s Brave Brands for 2025 at a luncheon during Advertising Week New York. Find out more about the event and how to attend here.
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