Vaseline turns viral social media hacks into real products

Vaseline is turning viral social media hacks into real beauty products in its latest global campaign, "Vaseline originals (OGs)", developed with Ogilvy Singapore.

Building on its “Vaseline verified” platform, which validated the efficacy of creator-led hacks, the new campaign moves the brand from verifying trends to co-creating with the community. "Vaseline originals" is positioned as a first-of-its-kind product line that takes beauty shortcuts invented by everyday creators and translates them into products on shelf, while publicly crediting the originators.

At the heart of the launch are two of the internet’s early beauty voices. In 2008, creator Jen Chae (@frmheadtotoe) shared a Vaseline brow tamer hack on her blog, while YouTube pioneer Lauren Luke (@laurenluke_panacea81) popularised a Vaseline primer hack that made pro techniques more accessible. Nearly two decades later, those ideas have inspired two new products: Vaseline brow tamer, inspired by Chae’s hack, and Vaseline all-in-one primer and highlighter jelly, inspired by Luke.

Don't miss: Why Vaseline is teaming up with a real Nigerian prince 

Both products debuted via a TikTok Live session on 30 March 2026, featuring the creators themselves, and sold out within minutes.

"Vaseline originals" extends a movement that has already generated more than 3.5 million Vaseline hack-related posts online. While "Vaseline verified" focused on testing and validating popular hacks, "Vaseline originals" shifts the spotlight to the people behind these ideas, formalising them as “Vaseline OGs” and inviting more creators into the brand’s innovation pipeline.

“For years, creators have been reimagining what Vaseline jelly can do, often without recognition,” said Nathalia Amadeu, global brand director, Vaseline at Unilever.

“This campaign is about giving credit where it’s due: acknowledging, celebrating and rewarding the people behind those ideas. More than a campaign, it signals how we want to build going forward with our community, not just for them," added Amadeu. 

In tandem, Nicolas Courant, chief creative officer at Ogilvy Singapore, details how the team traced Vaseline’s use in culture back to its origins and found the OG creators who had been shaping these hacks long before they became mainstream.

“We started with a simple creative provocation: what if the best ideas were never in the boardroom, but already in people’s bedrooms and everyday routines? 'Vaseline originals' is a move from ownership to stewardship, honouring our OG content creators by sharing our success with them," explained Courant.

Aanchal Sethi, Asia managing director Unilever at Ogilvy Singapore, added that the model is already proving its business value. “The commercial signals have been unambiguous: products selling out in minutes, demand scaling with every drop. But what this campaign confirms goes beyond a single launch. It shows that community-led innovation isn’t just culturally resonant. It’s a growth engine. This is how Vaseline stays relevant for the next generation, and how we intend to keep building.”

The brand is continuing its search for the creators behind other viral Vaseline hacks, with more individuals expected to be recognised and certified as Vaseline OGs as the platform evolves.

The campaign comes on the heels of another Vaseline campaign in Nigeria. Created in collaboration with Leo Singapore, the anti-counterfeit campaign was fronted by a real Nigerian prince, who flips the long-running "Nigerian prince" email scope trope on its head.

The hero social media film sees the Prince Chris Okagbue acknowledging the infamous scam stereotype before stressing that he is "the real thing." The prince then tosses what looks like a bottle of Vaseline into the bin, revealing it to be fake.

Be part of #Content360 Singapore, 22–23 April 2026, where creativity and culture collide. Explore how AI-driven storytelling is shaping the future of content, gain practical insights, discover new tactics, and learn how the best in Asia are creating campaigns that truly resonate. 

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