Neutrogena answered Tate McRae’s viral TikTok with a playful Instagram video on Aug. 13, turning a skincare clip that drew eye-rolls into a brand moment of its own. The response came after McRae’s Aug. 2 post showed three Neutrogena products and quickly picked up 20 million views.
That original video was framed as a post-show routine, with McRae miming the removal of makeup and then presenting Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost water gel and eye patches. But the clip did not land as a clean product demo. Viewers said she appeared to hold the items without actually using them, and the comments sharpened the criticism with lines like, “Girl be careful,” and “The inside white cap is still on my friend.”
Neutrogena’s reply leaned into the chatter instead of trying to correct it. In the Aug. 13 Instagram video, a semi-animated makeup remover wipe pack opened with, “Wow. I’ve been off the grid,” then joked about a “little digital detox after a big festival weekend” before saying it had checked its phone and found “9 million notifications” from fans. The pack thanked people for liking, commenting, sharing and reposting, and added that it was “really, like really good at cleansing your face” but “even better at causing a scene.” The caption followed with, “I’d like to thank everyone for the sudden attention,” and, “Please respect my privacy as I adjust to the fame.”
The exchange matters because McRae has been a Neutrogena ambassador for over a year, which made the viral clip less like a random celebrity post and more like a test of how a brand handles a partnership under pressure. One day after the original video, McRae posted again, walking out of a trailer and signing a screen over the camera lens while writing, “Signing off on the ultimate skin hack with @neutrogena.” That follow-up signaled she was willing to keep the joke moving, even as the first clip remained the one people were debating.
What remains unresolved is whether McRae was deliberately parodying a skincare routine or whether the staging simply made the products look unused. Neutrogena has already embraced the attention, and McRae has kept her response light, which leaves the viral read of the original clip standing on its own. For now, the brand got the last word by treating criticism as part of the campaign.
