- hello, the oral and personal care brand, appointed actress Chandler Kinney as its first-ever Chief Aura Officer (CAO) on June 1, 2026.
- The newly created ambassador role is designed to deepen the brand's connection with Gen Z consumers, positioning oral care as part of a broader identity-driven self-care culture.
- As CAO, Kinney will shape content across hello's social channels, spearhead new content, provide behind-the-scenes glimpses, and share aura tips, with a spotlight on the brand's new Whipped Toothpaste.
- This marks a notable strategic shift for hello, which has historically kept its distance from celebrity ambassador-led marketing, making this its most high-profile talent partnership to date.
hello has named actress Chandler Kinney its first-ever Chief Aura Officer, a brand-new role created to connect the oral care brand with Gen Z’s growing obsession with “aura points” and intentional self-care routines.
The brand had been planning the CAO reveal since early 2026, with Haussling describing hello’s strategy as bringing beauty-world cues into the oral care experience, a category shift Gen Z is already driving.
This is a significant first for hello, a Colgate-Palmolive brand that has traditionally leaned away from celebrity-driven campaigns, a departure from its community-first roots that signals a clear new chapter.
This is a move that mirrors how other health and wellness brands are now chasing Gen Z loyalty through culturally resonant faces, much like Demi Lovato’s recent partnership with TheraBreath embedded oral care into a lifestyle and wellness narrative.
For Kinney, the deal arrives at a career high. She reprised her fan-favourite werewolf role as Willa in Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, which premiered on Disney Channel in July 2025.
Now she’s heading into scripted territory beyond Disney, she is set to star as Kimberly in Elle, the highly anticipated Legally Blonde prequel series premiering on Prime Video on July 1, 2026. This hello deal lands just ahead of that premiere, putting her squarely in the cultural spotlight heading into summer.
Similarly, Laufey’s first-ever brand partnership with CHAGEE shows how brands are increasingly tapping rising Gen Z talent at the exact moment their cultural relevance peaks.
Takeaways
Hello’s move here isn’t just a celebrity endorsement, it’s a cultural repositioning. By creating a brand-new executive-style title and handing it to a Gen Z actress with deep Disney roots and a serious mainstream breakout incoming, hello is essentially saying: oral care isn’t just hygiene anymore, it’s identity.
The “Chief Aura Officer” framing is deliberate and native to how Gen Z actually talks, “aura,” “aura points,” and intentional routines are not marketing buzzwords to this audience; they are part of everyday language. That authenticity gap is what most legacy personal care brands fail to bridge. Hello is trying to close it.
Kinney is also an interesting choice beyond her follower count. Her fanbase skews young, loyal, and highly engaged, the kind that follows career journeys closely.
With Elle premiering weeks after this announcement, hello is positioned to benefit from the wave of press and cultural conversation around her, essentially getting two moments of visibility for one deal.
Will hello’s pivot toward celebrity-led marketing risk alienating its loyal, community-first base that connected with the brand’s originally values-driven, no-frills identity? Could the “Chief Aura Officer” format become a new template for oral and personal care brands trying to reach Gen Z, and who gets one next?
