Rebecca Black Voices a Pony for e.l.f. Beauty

She's got so many tricks up her sleeve

The Halo Glow Liquid Filter from e.l.f. Beauty is more than a one-trick pony. It can be used as a highlighter, under foundation or all on its own. 

And Rebecca Black of “Friday” fame is more than a one-hit wonder (millions of social-media followers can’t be wrong).

Now, she stars in an e.l.f. commercial from Mischief @ No Fixed Address. The spot begins like most makeup ads: a breathy voiceover and close-ups of a model in a field. Then the music stops and a miniature pony, voiced by Black, takes umbrage with the “one-trick” designation.

“It’s actually very offensive,” says the foal, who knows card tricks, does impressions and would prefer the term “multi-talented small-boned horse.”

The ad ends with a series of revised taglines, thanks to the tiny workhorse.

“The ‘Many-Trick Pony’ is our rally to unapologetically live your bold truths—and an e.l.f.ing hilarious excuse to make a horse talk,” says Kory Marchisotto, CMO at the brand. “We’re not being shy that Halo Glow Liquid Filter can shine in a thousand ways—and you don’t need anyone’s permission to do it.”

The campaign launches today on Hulu, Amazon, Peacock, Tubi and e.l.f. social channels.

“On set, we had real ponies as stand-ins. Eventually, we’d replace our hero with a VFX pony, but every time the real ponies were around we were all starstruck,” say Dana Buckhorn and Tanner Thompson, ACDs at Mischief. “Our hero pony was named ‘Cheese Pizza’ and was just as beautiful as the pony in our final spot. Super fans of Rebecca Black might also catch that the pony’s haircut is (very intentionally) modeled after Rebecca’s current hairstyle. Iconic bangs and all.”