Neutrogena is embracing the power of the meme.
Since August last year, all of the Kenvue-owned beauty label’s celebrity ambassadors have straddled the line between expected and eclectic, with the rising pop starlet Tate McRae, buzzy Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan and Gen-Z actress Hailee Steinfeld all gracing campaigns. For its latest launch, however, the skincare maker is departing from its usual model, revealing the American wrestler and actor John Cena as the face of its new Ultra Sheer Mineral Face SPF 70.
Cena’s campaign will feature out-of-home advertising, digital activations and multiple television spots, all riffing on his oft-memed “you can’t see me” gesture and catchphrase, a reference to the sunscreen’s lightweight finish on the skin. In the full 90-second commercial, Cena arrives on set purportedly to film the campaign, but finds himself invisible to the cast and crew.
“[It] gives you advanced SPF protection, but doesn’t look like traditional mineral sunscreen. You can’t see it,” Cena says in the ad spot.
His star turn for Neutrogena is part of the brand’s plan to regain its lost footing (and market share) as more social-media-savvy brands like L’Oréal’s Cerave or Estée Lauder Companies’s The Ordinary encroach on its offering of no-frills, clinically-proven skincare. In 2021, Cerave seized its long-held title of being the number one most dermatologist-recommended brand.
“Over the last few years, we lost some relevancy,” admits Andrew Stanleick, president of Kenvue’s beauty division across the US and EMEA, who joined the company in November after a stint leading aesthetics firm BeautyHealth. “But we also weren’t talking to that younger consumer in a way which really resonated and connected with them like other brands did.”
Stanleick said Cena not only has multi-generational appeal, but that he was particularly resonant with younger shoppers due to his memeability; the brand hopes to reach a wider audience outside of core beauty customers.
Cena told The Business of Beauty he understood people might be surprised to see him in a beauty campaign, but that sun protection was a topic close to his heart, having had two cancerous spots removed from his skin previously.
“I was a sunscreen avoider, and the neglect caught up with me,” said Cena. “Hopefully people will get a laugh, and I don’t mind being the butt of the joke, but now I also get to be an advocate for something I’ve experienced in my life that I could have avoided if I just wasn’t so stubborn.”
By casting an unexpected face and leaning into humour, Neutrogena is taking a leaf out of the Cerave and E.l.f Beauty playbook; the former has done tongue-in-cheek campaigns with actors like Michael Cera, while the latter tapped actress Jennifer Coolidge for a playful advert in 2024.
It’s also employing the time-old strategy of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, which is easier said than done. Pulling it off requires balancing edge with broad appeal, but Stanleick believes layering the brand’s core message with the infectious charm of John Cena will help them stick the landing.
“We have great science, and we’re telling it in a very simple, compelling way, and selling at an affordable price, amplified by celebrity,” said Stanleick.
“But in terms of whether we want to regain market share or create new space, [we want to do] both.”
A Return to Form
Neutrogena has a long history in skincare: The company dates back to the 1930s, and was among the first to use cutting-edge ingredients like glycolic acid and hyaluronic acid in consumer products, according to Stanleick. With its wide availability and low cost, the brand provided an entry into skincare for many American teens, and would stick with them as they grew up.
Over time, the brand lost agility and became a casualty of corporate reshuffling. When Kenvue, which also makes drugs like Tylenol and personal care products like Listerine as well as the beauty labels Aveeno and Ogx, was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, it almost immediately became a target for activist investors Starboard, who called on the company to rebuild a “marketing and innovation culture” and cited a revamp of Neutrogena as a catalyst for further growth. Stanleick said the brand is now number two in the US and that he is “determined” to regain the top spot.
Cena’s presence in the campaign isn’t just for comic relief, said Stanleick, but is also intended to underscore the new product’s innovation. Sunscreens, especially those made with mineral filters, are often chalky in texture and leave a white cast on the skin; Neutrogena is keen to position its formulation as a coup. (“You can’t see it.”)
It’s also keen to demonstrate its scientific chops again: in March, Neutrogena upped its presence at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) trade show in Orlando, Florida with more influencer activations. The brand hosted a booth with celebrity dermatologist Dr Neera Nathan, who has over 1 million Instagram followers, stars alongside Cena in the campaign. In February, it also revealed a new tagline: “Beauty to a science.”
In a sponsored video filmed at AAD, the content creator and cosmetic chemist Alex Padgett tests the product while chatting with a Neutrogena chemist. “It’s a lot sheerer than I expected,” says Padgett in the video, before going on to explain how complex such a formula is: “If someone told me I had to make an SPF 70 with only mineral filters, I would run away. I would quit my job,” she said.
A Cool Customer
Commanding fresh authority in the science-led skincare space will be a boon, as shoppers across age brackets seek out proven formulas and accessible prices. But to differentiate itself from competitors that have encroached on its turf, Neutrogena is taking a broader approach, investing in innovative categories like its Collagen Bank range, fronted by Hailee Steinfeld, which it says targets “pre-ageing.” While the brand is known for entry-level products like its makeup wipes and cleansers, Stanleick said solutions-driven products will be a focus going forward.
With most big beauty companies seeing a slight deceleration in sales in 2025, even at white-hot Cerave, Stanleick added there’s a bigger opportunity for Neutrogena as consumers increasingly seek value.
Still, selling to Gen-Z, and increasingly, Gen Alpha, means being nimble and agile with social media, and understanding virality. Cena is clearly committed to the bit — “I will give up the joke every day and twice on Sunday to make sure more people are protected out there,” he said — but trends move fast and marketing can quickly go stale. Chasing what’s cool can also lead a brand off-track.
“I don’t like the word ‘cool’,” said Stanleick. “But I do think any brand needs to be relevant with its target audience.”
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