The Vision Behind MAC Viva Glam’s Next 30 Years

Thirty years and over $500 million raised since its inception, MAC Cosmetics is upping the ante on Viva Glam.

In tandem with the brand’s 40th anniversary — and Viva Glam’s 30th birthday — the company is preparing for the decades ahead by expanding its mission and making a big commitment: to reach $1 billion raised.

First created 30 years ago, Viva Glam was launched by MAC’s original founders, Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo, with a campaign that blared, “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.” At that time, HIV/AIDS was a relatively unknown virus that was decimating the gay community in particular, and the cofounders had the idea of donating all of the proceeds from its Viva Glam lipstick to help fight HIV/AIDS. RuPaul became the first-ever face of the initiative, which over the years has included everyone from K.D. Lang to Mary J. Blige to Sia.

Money raised from Viva Glam has supported both the community and medical research, and its success has informed how all brands — including beauty and beyond — think about purpose and social impact today.

“When the Estée Lauder Companies was first introduced to MAC in 1993, the Viva Glam campaign and the MAC AIDS Fund were a critical component of the brand’s culture, and would remain so as part of our efforts to celebrate what made them so unique,” said William P. Lauder, executive chairman, the Estée Lauder Cos. “In the years that would follow, some of the most significant social impact initiatives across our company and its individual brands would be largely inspired by the groundbreaking work of MAC and Viva Glam, and provide a purpose beyond selling products.”

What executives think makes the campaign so successful is the combination of purpose and playfulness.

“The campaign always focused on what was sexy and what was good as opposed to being too forward-facing on the serious,” said Nancy Mahon, Lauder’s chief sustainability officer, who joined the company to helm the Viva Glam fund, then called the AIDS fund. “It celebrates makeup, having fun, but at the same time leverages all of that power to raise money for a good cause. The history is a reminder about the power consumers have to vote with their wallets.”

The celebrities who have fronted the campaign run the gamut from RuPaul to Pamela Anderson; Nicki Minaj to Lady Gaga. Most recently, the brand unveiled Danna Paola and Kim Petras as its latest spokespeople.

“The key thing is they actually have to be there to do what is required. You want them to participate and advocate and stand for the things you’re doing,” said Drew Elliott, global creative director of MAC Cosmetics. “Whether it was the use of hip-hop stars to destigmatize HIV/AIDS in the 90s or early 2000s like Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott. Today, we’re working with Kim [Petras], the first trans woman to win a Grammy.”

“The campaign is really about equality: all kinds,” Petras said in an interview. “This campaign helps charities all over the world and in so many countries, including Germany, where I’m from.”

The global scope of Viva Glam has been a key part of its success. As HIV/AIDS has evolved from an almost certain death sentence to a manageable chronic condition, so is the scope of Viva Glam broadening to reflect issues in different markets.

“There are very important things happening in local markets that are driving those markets’ conversations. We wanted to have a platform that can help specifically in some of the areas that are important to people in each of those locations,” said Elliott, citing beach cleanups in India as an example. “It allows us to be on the forefront, to be a bit edgier in our communication, because we’re laser-focused on things that matter there instead of a broad statement.”

To that end, the platform has broadened to take on causes beyond just HIV and AIDS. They include gender, sexual, racial and environmental equality.

“The brand was always about equity, and so alongside HIV and AIDS, we see now that sadly, HIV is a disease of poverty and stigma, and we still see that women of color have higher rates of HIV infection,” Mahon said.

What hasn’t changed in the brand’s commitment to positive social change: 100 percent of Viva Glam products’ selling prices goes to the fund. That dedication reverbates throughout the brand, and Lauder as a whole.

“What’s great about the MAC framework is how purpose shows up in retail, and we see that beauty consumers in particular really care. A big piece of consumer loyalty is trust, and caring and empathy,” Mahon said, noting that the model has been replicated at other Lauder brands. “Origins has its tree-planting initiative, MAC has Viva Glam and Bobbi Brown has the Pretty Powerful Fund. As you grow the good, you also grow the brand.”

For the campaign’s latest iteration, much of the content will be social media-first. “It’ll be dimensionalized not just in a single image you see for the full year, but rather, the story of our NGOs and the people who are impacted,” Elliott said of the strategy pivot.

“People want that emotional story. It’s not just ‘Here’s a lip shade’ anymore. They want to understand how it’s attached to purpose,” Elliott continued. “It’s purpose, shade inclusion, artistry for all ages, all races, all genders. And now, it’s not just table stakes. It’s what people really, really want. And MAC put that in as a blueprint and our responsibility is to continue to bring that to life in new ways for new generations.”

Five Minutes With MAC Viva Glam Ambassador Kim Petras

What is the significance of the MAC Viva Glam campaign to you, your community and your audience?

Kim Petras:

It’s about all kinds of equality: sexual equality, gender equality, racial equality, which are things in my career I’ve always cared the most about. I’ve always hated that I was judged differently by people because of how I identify, and I wished that it wasn’t that way my entire career. I’ve always cared about trans homelessness, for example, and kids being kicked out of their families for being trans, which is one of the saddest things that can happen. These issues can be life-or-death, and there is a lot of help needed for it.

How do you decide what you want to lend your name to, and what attracted you to MAC?

K.P.: It felt like a very natural and obvious thing. During my Grammy win, I was wearing a red MAC lip. Throughout my career, there have always been MAC products as my go-tos and which remain in the kit. That in and of itself is big — the quality I have come to expect from MAC. It’s a very reliable brand.

But really, it’s more about the charity aspect, how inspired I felt growing up witnessing the Viva Glam campaigns and how I feel I can add myself to it very easily because they just believe in all the same things I believe in. No one gives away 100 percent of the proceeds from a product, and they’ve raised over $500 million. They’ve literally saved lives.

What was the first MAC product that you remember using?

K.P.:

My mom had this eye shadow that I always used to steal, a black eye shadow with silver glitter in it. My mom would use that really lightly like an eyeliner. She didn’t do liquid eyeliner, but powder eyeliner, and I wanted to be emo at the time. I smeared it all over my face until I hit pan.

Around 13 or 14, I got an eyebrow pencil from MAC that I was obsessed with. They always had a skinny eyebrow pencil that I like, and [Prep & Prime] Fix+ was a social thing in my school. I didn’t have many friends, but Fix+ was a status symbol. I didn’t have anyone to talk to, so I would do my makeup. The smell of that will forever take me back to high school in a major way, hanging out with my gay friends. That smell still makes me really happy.