e.l.f. Beauty just claimed fairground real estate that no beauty brand has touched at the Minnesota State Fair in at least 20 years.
Its viral pickle-inspired Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm collection anchors the four-day run from August 27 to 30.
The activation centers on a 10-foot pickle jar planted on Wright Ave.
It stands alongside a rebranded Skyride and product gifting that spans e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN and, for the first time at this scale, e.l.f. Hair.
The original pickle lip balm sold out in eight minutes earlier this year, pulling in a wave of new shoppers, 77% of whom hadn't bought from e.l.f. before.
The state fair activation continues that momentum into three shades: The Real Dill, e.l.f. von Dill, and Spicy Lil' Dill.
Patrick O'Keefe, chief integrated marketing officer of e.l.f. Brands, linked the decision to how e.l.f. recruits its community.
"Shared experiences are what builds our emotional connection with our community," he said.
He added that state fairs bring together every generation and background, and called that the kind of community that e.l.f. exists for.
e.l.f. Brands covers e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN and e.l.f. Hair.
The fair marks the first time all three have gifted products at a single event this size.
The Pickle Jar, the Skyride, and the Giveaway
The pickle jar anchors e.l.f.'s presence on Wright Ave.
The Skyride stretches the campaign across the property, with gondolas wrapped in the lip balm's flavors and textures.
QR codes mounted on the ride unlock a separate giveaway for e.l.f. Cosmetics' Fine as Fleck Glitter Eyeshadow.
Both the gondolas and the codes stay up for all 12 days of the fair, which runs through September 7, while supplies last.
The timing lines up with the collection's retail rollout.
The three shades and a companion Briny Blender sponge went live on August 20 on elfcosmetics.com, Ulta.com, and TikTok Shop.
They reached Ulta Beauty stores on August 23 with a gift-with-purchase.
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This marked e.l.f.'s first appearance on Ulta Beauty's TikTok Shop.
e.l.f. Hair's inclusion gives the newer product line its largest consumer activation to date.
"At Ulta Beauty, we're always looking for opportunities to bring our guests the beauty moments everyone is talking about," Kaitlin Rinehart, Ulta Beauty's VP of merchandising, said in a statement.
Exclusivity gives Ulta a reason to push the drop in its own channels.
It also gives e.l.f. one retail destination to send fairgoers to once the free gifting runs out.
The state fair concentrates an unusual amount of reach into a short window.
Minnesota drew 1,940,869 people across 12 days last year, the highest average daily attendance of any state fair in the country.
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e.l.f. is also counting on why people show up.
The brand cites research from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions showing 95% of fairgoers attend to socialize and connect.
Density and intent together explain the pull for consumer marketing, since fairgoers arrive primed to talk to each other about what they see.
e.l.f. Brands runs a second fair activation in Dallas in October, timed to the State Fair of Texas and its Big Tex icon.
Experiential Marketing Lessons From the Pickle Jar
Global experiential marketing spend hit $138.94 billion in 2025 and is on pace to grow 10.3% this year.
The consumer side of that spending is pacing for 10.9% growth in 2026, its fastest in a decade.
e.l.f. sits in the fastest-growing slice of this spending, where consumer activations are drawing more money than at any point in the past 10 years.
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Three parts of e.l.f.'s approach transfer to other experiential activations:
- Build the product story before the booth: The pickle lip balm's eight-minute sellout gave e.l.f. a reason for fans to show up in person.
- Pick venues with density, not just headcount: Minnesota's 1.9 million attendees over 12 days beat fairs with larger totals spread over more days, concentrating exposure into a tighter window.
- Extend beyond the anchor structure. The Skyride rebrand and QR giveaways gave fairgoers multiple touchpoints outside the attraction, so the campaign didn't rely on one photo opportunity to carry it.
What decides the return is whether the product launch behind it already has people willing to drive to a fairground for a free sample.
Our Take: Did e.l.f. Buy the Smartest Ad Space at the Minnesota State Fair?
e.l.f. paid for the one piece of the Minnesota fairgrounds that visitors already pay to use themselves.
We think that the Skyride is the sharper buy here, and the 10-foot jar is the part that got everyone writing about it.
The jar and the gifting staff pack up when e.l.f.'s four days end on August 30.
The gondolas keep circling in lip balm colors for another week, with no staff on site and no added cost per rider.
Fairgoers buy a ticket, sit inside a branded environment, and look down at the fairgrounds that e.l.f. wanted on their minds.
Texas in October is the test, and the thing to watch is whether e.l.f. buys the rides again once Big Tex has had its photo taken.
Running one idea across a fairground, a retail rollout, and a TikTok Shop launch takes partners who can hold the concept together in all three places.
Explore these top agencies experienced in helping brands keep ambition high while execution stays grounded.
