Maybelline’s Gen-Z Strategy: Suhana Khan as the Face of New India

Discover Maybelline’s Gen-Z marketing strategy and how Suhana Khan became a key face of New India. Book top celebrities to build your brand relevance, and shape a modern beauty identity for India’s younger, digitally connected audience.

Maybelline New York has been around for more than a century, but its marketing has never stayed stuck in the past. As India's beauty audience has changed, the brand has also changed the way it speaks to young consumers.

One of the biggest steps came in 2023 when Maybelline announced Suhana Khan as one of its new brand ambassadors in India, alongside Ananya Birla, Eksha Subba and PV Sindhu. The choice was clearly aimed at building a stronger connection with Gen Z.

Suhana was a particularly interesting choice. She was a young actor, already familiar to millions through her family background and social presence, and was entering Bollywood around the same time. Her image represented a younger, digitally connected India.

But Maybelline's strategy was not simply about putting a famous young face on a billboard.

It was about using celebrity, social media, beauty content, inclusivity and self-expression together. 

Why Did Maybelline Choose Suhana Khan?

The first question is obvious: why Suhana?

Maybelline was looking for a younger voice that could connect with a generation that consumes beauty very differently from previous generations.

Gen Z doesn't just watch advertisements. They discover products through Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, creators, tutorials, celebrity content, reviews and trends.

Suhana fit naturally into that environment.

When Maybelline introduced her as an ambassador, the brand described its goal as helping people express their beauty and confidence in their own way. The other new ambassadors also represented different parts of modern Indian identity, including sport, business, fashion and digital culture. 

That was important.

Maybelline wasn't saying that there was only one version of a modern Indian woman.

Instead, it was showing several.

Suhana Represents a New Generation of Indian Celebrity

Suhana Khan's appeal is different from that of an established Bollywood star.

She entered the public eye at a time when social media is almost as important as traditional entertainment media. Her journey was followed online, and her fashion and beauty looks quickly became part of digital conversations.

That made her useful for a brand like Maybelline.

She wasn't simply a film celebrity. 

She was part of the social-media generation that Maybelline wanted to reach.

Her association with The Archies also gave Maybelline an opportunity to connect beauty with youth culture, entertainment and fashion. The brand later used the film and its young cast in a Gen-Z-focused campaign.

This is where the idea of “New India” comes in.

New India is younger, more digital, more diverse and much more comfortable expressing individual identity online.

And beauty brands have had to adapt to that.

Maybelline's Gen-Z Strategy Goes Beyond One Celebrity

It would be wrong to say that Maybelline's Gen-Z strategy is simply “Suhana Khan marketing.”

The brand has built a wider ecosystem.

Its 2023 ambassador lineup included Suhana Khan, Ananya Birla, Eksha Subba and PV Sindhu. These personalities came from very different backgrounds. Maybelline used that diversity to represent different interests and personalities within its target audience.

This is a smart move.

A Gen-Z consumer may not relate to every celebrity.

But they may relate to a sportsperson.

Or a singer.

Or a fashion personality.

Or an actor.

Or a creator.

By having different faces represent the brand, Maybelline can speak to different parts of the same generation.

From Celebrity Advertising to Social-First Beauty

Traditional beauty advertising often worked like this:

Celebrity → Product → Advertisement → Consumer

The newer model looks more like:

Celebrity → Content → Social Media → Conversation → Consumer

That difference matters.

Maybelline's website itself has content built around recreating Suhana's makeup looks, including no-makeup makeup, dewy makeup and glam looks. The brand connects these looks to specific products and gives consumers practical instructions to recreate them.

That turns the celebrity from an advertising face into a content source.

Someone sees Suhana's makeup look.

They like it.

They search for the products.

They learn how to recreate it.

They may then buy the same products.

That's a much more useful customer journey than simply seeing a celebrity in a television commercial.

The “Suhana Khan Look” Becomes Shoppable Content

This is one of the most interesting parts of Maybelline's strategy.

Instead of only saying, “Suhana uses Maybelline,” the brand shows audiences how to get a similar look.

For example, Maybelline has published detailed guides around Suhana's looks, including the products used for her base, eyes, brows, lips and overall finish.

This works especially well with Gen Z because beauty content is often instructional.

People don't just want to know what a celebrity wears.

They want to know:

“How can I do this myself?”

That turns celebrity influence into something practical.

Maybelline + The Archies: Using Pop Culture to Reach Gen Z

Maybelline's partnership around The Archies was another example of this strategy.

The brand launched a limited-edition collection connected to the film and used its young cast to tap into the cultural attention around the movie.

According to WARC's case study, the campaign included a red-carpet launch, YouTube Masthead advertising, influencer content, OTT activity and interactive promotions. The campaign reportedly delivered a 15% increase in sales for regular products and a 30% increase in website traffic, while top-of-mind awareness increased significantly.

The important lesson is that Maybelline wasn't simply buying celebrity visibility.

It was connecting beauty + cinema + fashion + social media + youth culture.

That's much closer to how Gen Z discovers brands today.

Why Suhana's Minimal Beauty Style Works for Maybelline

Another reason Suhana fits Maybelline is her beauty image.

Maybelline has used her for looks ranging from minimal makeup to more glamorous styles. Its own content highlights her dewy, clean and polished makeup looks.

This works well because Gen Z beauty isn't limited to one fixed style.

The same person may want:

• A simple everyday look

• A clean-girl makeup look

• A bold lip

• A party look

• A dewy finish

• A dramatic eye look

Maybelline's wide product range allows the brand to move between all of these.

Suhana becomes a way of showing consumers how the products can fit into different versions of themselves.

Maybelline Is Combining Celebrities With Influencers

Another major part of Maybelline's current strategy is the combination of celebrity ambassadors and beauty creators.

Industry analysis of the brand's strategy highlights its use of celebrities such as Suhana Khan, Alia Bhatt and PV Sindhu alongside beauty YouTubers, Instagram creators and other influencers.

This creates a useful two-level marketing model.

Celebrities Bring Reach

A celebrity can quickly make a new product or campaign visible to millions of people.

Influencers Bring Relatability

Beauty creators can demonstrate products, review shades, create tutorials and answer questions.

So the campaign can move from:

“Look at this product.”

to:

“Here's how I use it.”

That second step is extremely important for beauty.

The Role of Digital Beauty Experiences

Maybelline has also invested in making online beauty shopping more interactive.

Its digital content includes tutorials, product guides and virtual try-on tools. Its content around Suhana's looks, for example, encourages consumers to recreate the looks and experiment with different products.

This is another important part of connecting with younger audiences.

Gen Z doesn't necessarily want to be told what looks good.

They want to experiment.

They want to try different looks, compare products, watch tutorials and create their own versions.

Maybelline's digital strategy fits into that behaviour.

Suhana and the Idea of Self-Expression

At the heart of Maybelline's positioning is a simple idea: makeup is not only about looking attractive.

It is also about confidence and self-expression.

Maybelline's own brand messaging talks about confidence, creativity, diversity and helping people express their beauty in their own way.

Suhana fits into this because her public image is closely connected to youth, fashion and modern celebrity culture.

The brand can therefore use her not only to sell lipstick, foundation or mascara but also to communicate a broader message:

Your makeup can be whatever you want it to be.

That's a much more flexible message for Gen Z.

What Can Brands Learn From Maybelline's Suhana Khan Strategy?

There are several lessons here for other brands.

1. Don't Choose a Celebrity Only for Fame

The celebrity should fit the audience you're trying to reach.

2. Turn Celebrity Content Into Useful Content

A makeup look becomes more valuable when consumers can actually recreate it.

3. Combine Celebrities With Influencers

Celebrities create awareness while creators can provide demonstrations, reviews and conversations.

4. Connect With Culture

Maybelline's The Archies campaign shows how brands can use entertainment and pop culture to become part of a larger conversation.

5. Let Consumers Participate

Gen Z responds well when they can recreate, remix, review and share branded content instead of simply watching it.

6. Keep the Brand Message Consistent

Maybelline continues to build around confidence, creativity and self-expression while changing the way it communicates that message.

Why Suhana Khan Is More Than Just a Brand Ambassador

Suhana Khan's role for Maybelline shows how celebrity marketing has changed in India.

A celebrity is no longer simply someone who appears in a 30-second advertisement.

The right celebrity can become part of a brand's entire content ecosystem.

They can appear in campaigns, tutorials, product launches, social posts, interviews, events and digital series.

Maybelline's collaboration with Suhana has followed this broader model, including product-focused content and digital-first campaigns. More recently, Suhana has also appeared in the “Talk Beauty To Me” content series, where Maybelline products are integrated into a conversational, entertainment-led format aimed at younger beauty audiences.

And that is perhaps the biggest reason the partnership works.

Maybelline isn't trying to make Gen Z behave like older beauty consumers. It is changing the way the brand communicates with them.

Conclusion: The Future of Celebrity Marketing Is More Interactive

Maybelline's Gen-Z strategy shows that celebrity endorsements are moving away from simple product promotion.

Suhana Khan gives the brand youth appeal, cultural relevance and a strong connection with India's digitally active audience. But the larger strategy includes influencers, social media, tutorials, entertainment, interactive tools and products that allow consumers to express themselves.

That's what makes the strategy interesting.

The celebrity gets people to stop scrolling. The content gives them a reason to stay. And the product gives them a reason to buy.

For brands, this is an important lesson. The right celebrity isn't simply a face for your campaign. They can become a bridge between your brand and the audience you want to reach.

Book Celebrities and Influencers With Tring

If you're looking to build a campaign around celebrity reach, influencer engagement or both, finding the right personality is the first step. Tring is the go-to platform for businesses and brands looking to book celebrities and influencers for promotions, advertising campaigns, product launches, events and brand collaborations.

Whether you want a major celebrity to create awareness or influencers to make your campaign more relatable, the right combination can help your brand connect with today's audience in a much more natural way.

Because the next big celebrity campaign shouldn't just be seen. It should be talked about, shared and remembered.