“There’s No Off Button” Why Vaseline’s Creator-Led Marketing Transformation Keeps Going

This summer, Vaseline was one of the big winners at Cannes Lions, taking home Grands Prix in Health and Wellness and Social and Influencer. The Unilever-owned petroleum jelly and its agency Ogilvy Singapore tapped into the trend of people sharing their Vaseline hacks on social media, and collaborated with creators to test and ‘verify’ them.

Significantly, the campaign involved opening the brand up to creators, who, according to global brand director Nathalia Amadeu became “co-authors” of the brand. It became a fascinating case study for Unilever’s “many-to-many” social-first marketing strategy. Hacks surfaced via social listening from various communities and interest groups were tested by Unilever’s researchers and then creators would share the ‘verified’ hacks back with the group.

However, far from being a one-off campaign, Vaseline Verified ended up transforming not only the brand’s marketing but everything from research and development to supply chain, and it’s still continuing to change.

“There’s no off button, this is really a 24/7 machine that has been feeding us more than hacks, and cultural insights… most importantly opening our eyes to new business opportunities. When we started this with the creators and we surrendered control to them… we started colliding with their passion points. It made Vaseline show up in ways we never had before.”

Thanks to the campaign’s social listening, the team connected with new communities that used the product in ways the marketing team had never even conceived of. And that in turn unearthed new formats for the product, including new aisles and stores to show up in. Around the London Marathon, they noticed a peak in activity – because long-distance runners use it to to prevent chafing between toes or between the thighs. All of a sudden, Vaseline had a reason to show up in the footcare aisle. Or the finding that people use Vaseline around their nostrils to trap pollen during hayfever season – suddenly there’s a whole retail proposition of placing Vaseline by the antihistamines.

In one case, a ‘hack’ uncovered on social media led to a partnership with a brand in a completely different FMCG’s stable. The use of Vaseline on the lips to prevent a burning sensation when eating spicy food led to a brand collab with Doritos Flamin’ Hot.

“We realised that skin care is just a continent in the Vaseline world,” says Nathalia.
“I think one of my biggest learnings with this campaign, to be honest with you, is how many times we have been trying to dig up this space in people’s lives, ignoring the space people had reserved for us,” says Nathalia. “We realised that there was a space where people had reserved for our brand but all of our briefings were limiting us, trying to make Vaseline jelly a premium skincare product in the context that the opportunity is much much bigger.”

Oddly enough, as the experience revealed the opportunities to reposition Vaseline in a far broader, more flexible way, it also harkened back to the brand’s history. Legend has it that before finding the name Vaseline, inventor Robert Cheseborough named it ‘Wonder Jelly’ and in the 1950s, that term was resurfaced as a nickname for the brand in Reader’s Digest.

Nathalia harbours a real sense of responsibility towards this heritage brand, and she’s realised that in order to help it thrive for further 150 years, the team must put it in the hands of those who use it.

The traction this approach has had is particularly notable given the rapid rise and evolution of AI technology. Vaseline Verified is all about truth and realness, from the brand and from creators.

“You know, I think that shift from endorsement to ecosystem was really critical for the success of this campaign,” reflects Nathalia. “Vaseline turned credibility into social currency... All of that opening carries some risks, that’s unavoidable, but we decided our role was not to control but to bring clarity.”

When it comes to the role of the agency in the brand’s marketing ecosystem, the campaign also brought new clarity. When it comes to spreading the message, much of the heavy lifting and relationship building has been done via creators. However, it was an agency that devised the idea for Vaseline Verified in the first place and Nathalia says agency partners have been invaluable in taking the insights from social listening and finding creative ways to amplify them.

Since the success of this creator-led philosophy has become apparent, Nathalia and her team at Vaseline have themselves been approached not just by marketers from within the Unilever umbrella but from brands as diverse as Coca-Cola and Ferrero. “It’s been a pleasure to have this exchange because it started from a very humble place.”
The journey that Nathalia and the Vaseline team has been on has been one of complete transformation. “Vaseline Verified started as a very simple idea and became this principle of how we use brands in the social age. It completely changes the way we do marketing for our brands… it is totally community-led, culture driven and earned first.”

Looking forward, the experience has imbued the brand with a buoyancy and a sense of renewed possibility.

“Every stakeholder today after seeing the success of this campaign feels much more optimistic about the future and the growth of this brand. That for 155 years has had this one agenda and now can play in different business categories as an opportunity to fuel our growth and our future,” says Nathalia.

“Where next? This has redefined and reshaped our brand positioning. It brings forth how we value proof over hype and that has become even more our strength. This clear proposition from our brand delivers health beyond hype and I think this is very important for a heritage brand that has been out there for so long, colliding with this hive of creativity in the social space. We have a very relevant role more than ever. I think our purpose in culture becomes really clear and gives us many more opportunities to tell this story not only through social but also through innovation.”