The male beauty ambassador bet: Marketing buzz or real impact?

What happened Male beauty ambassadors are no longer a novelty in China — but they are entering a sharper, more commercially driven phase. In March, Bobbi Brown tapped Taiwanese actor Jerry Yan as its new ambassador, while Vaseline named Gong Jun as Asia-Pacific ambassador. Earlier in January, Kans appointed Zhang Hao of South Korean boy band Zerobaseone to the same role. They join a growing roster of male celebrities now central to beauty marketing in the country. For example, Xiao Zhan holds partnerships with brands such as YSL Beauty, L’Oréal, and Nars; Ding Yuxi fronts campaigns for M.A.C and Kans; and Wang Yibo collaborates with Shu Uemura and Pechoin. The trend is a masterclass in targeting the Chinese female consumer, specifically the “girlfriend fan.” With an estimated 400 million female consumers driving a $70 billion beauty market, brands leverage a clear psychological trigger: fans feel a deep, one-sided connection with their idol. Buying a lipstick he endorses feels like supporting him and, in a way, participating in a fantasy relationship with him. Academic research has shown that male celebrity endorsements can significantly influence female consumers’ purchase intentions in China. At the same time, critics argue that this dynamic reflects a form of “consumerist pseudo-feminism,” where perceived empowerment is ultimately redirected into consumption. This dynamic plays out in so-called “data wars,” where fan groups organize mass purchasing to prove their idol’s commercial value, generating both buzz and immediate sales. However, the model is inherently unstable. Fans of a “traffic star” can be fleeting, quickly shifting their attention to the next big name. This makes it difficult for brands to build long-term loyalty as consumers are often loyal to the idol, not the brand itself. Moreover, as the KOL ecosystem matures, its limitations are becoming increasingly visible: homogenized content, consumer fatigue, and rising traffic costs. These challenges force brands to revisit the question: does hiring male idols drive real revenue, or does it just generate expensive, short-lived buzz? The Jing Take: How celebrity personas drive beauty sales Brands need to look beyond buzz versus sales and focus on the quality of the impact: whether it’s a launch-day GMV spike or sustained store sell-through, how many purchases come from outside fan-driven buying windows, and which beauty subcategories are benefitting most from the celebrity endorsement. Not all male endorsements are created equal. A 2013 content analysis of Chinese television advertising published in the Macao Polytechnic University Journal identified distinct archetypes, such as the aspirational “boyfriend” and the trusted “guy friend.” Brands should test if one archetype consistently outperforms the other in driving sales or building brand trust — for example, whether the “boyfriend” persona works better for high-end lipstick, while the “guy friend” resonates more with daily skincare. For example, Dylan Wang rose to prominence through his dominant and emotionally intense role in the 2022 drama Love Between Fairy and Devil, cultivating a cool yet possessive image. When he became Fenty Beauty’s global ambassador, fans bought shades associated with him to feel closer to his persona. This archetype tends to perform particularly well in high-desire categories such as premium lipsticks, fragrances, and accessories, where emotional and symbolic value drives conversion. In contrast, Jackson Yee carries a more mainstream and trusted public image, reinforced by his long-standing national recognition and roles as a brand ambassador on major platforms such as Tmall. His endorsements for brands like Armani and Tiffany & Co. are not only driven by fan support but also by a perception of refined taste and reliability, making them particularly effective for premium skincare or luxury positioning. The portfolio approach: Balancing reach and risk Increasingly, brands are adopting a portfolio approach to celebrity endorsements. Rather than relying on a single ambassador, they are building a matrix of personalities that appeal to different audience segments. This diversification strategy not only expands reach but also mitigates risk. At the same time, shorter-term and project-based collaborations are becoming more common. Brands are moving away from long-term contracts toward flexible partnerships aligned with specific campaign cycles, allowing them to capitalize on peak celebrity momentum while reducing long-term exposure. Ultimately, the male beauty ambassador bet is less a binary choice between buzz and revenue than a question of alignment between archetype and category, between campaign hype and sustained loyalty. Brands that treat these endorsements as relational investments rather than transactional stunts stand to capture not just the fleeting excitement of a launch day but the slower, steadier returns of genuine consumer trust. In a market shaped by both fandom fervor and shifting definitions of empowerment, the real metric lies not in who signs but in why fans buy and whether they come back when the spotlight moves on.

Sectors

Insights

Company

The male beauty ambassador bet: Marketing buzz or real impact?