Cosmetics marketing tends to follow a fairly rigid formula. In print, you’ll get a dewy-skinned model pouting softly at the camera; on video, a cinematic clip of Natalie Portman laughing in a wildflower meadow. The visual language is premium, sophisticated, aspirational — about as far as you can get from a clumsily edited, human-sized lip gloss holding a glass of wine.

So when Rihanna posted that very image last week to announce Fenty Beauty’s Olympics partnership (the sentient lip gloss was also holding Rihanna’s hand), people took notice. “I saw it and paused a meeting to say, ‘Look at this Fenty campaign, it’s so silly,’” says Steff Yotka, head of content at Ssense. “So it obviously worked.”

Fenty Beauty’s clip-arty post is the latest example of fashion and beauty brands taking a deliberately lo-fi approach to social media — a tactic that’s been incredibly successful for some. So how long before the entire industry jumps aboard? And does the aesthetic have the legs to leap out of our phones and into more traditional ad campaigns?

Like so many others in fashion, this shift was propelled by Gen Z. Raised on social media, where ads are basically ‘optional’, it’s no surprise zoomers lose active attention for adverts quicker than any other generation. The answer? Platform-native content that doesn’t instantly register as marketing.