When the product is the campaign: making skincare for a body medicine forgot: what Vaseline actually did
Vaseline and Ogilvy Singapore spent two years co-creating a body lotion specifically formulated for transgender women undergoing hormone therapy. Focus groups, dermatologist consultations, and gender-affirmation specialist input shaped the formula, which uses Isoflavones, a plant-based oestrogen never before used in the skincare category, to address dryness, dullness, hyperpigmentation, and hormonal skin imbalance. The product launched on International Transgender Day of Visibility and was permanently listed across 670 Watsons stores in Thailand.
The tension it resolves
Vaseline's promise of healthy skin for everybody collapsed the moment 'everybody' meant a body no existing product was built for.
The challenge it solved for Vaseline: How do you make a skincare brand's universal promise credible to a community whose specific skin needs no product in the category has ever addressed?
The mechanism
Turn a community's unmet biological need into a clinically proven, co-created product, then use the product launch itself as the campaign's most persuasive proof point.
The proof
Campaign: Transition Body Lotion, Ogilvy Singapore, 2024. Sold out across many of the 670 Watsons stores at launch. 158 million impressions in Thailand. Purchase intent 725% above benchmark. Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix, Glass: The Lion for Change, and Singapore's first ever Cannes Grand Prix.
FAQ
What is the When the product is the campaign: making skincare for a body medicine forgot pattern?
Turn a community's unmet biological need into a clinically proven, co-created product, then use the product launch itself as the campaign's most persuasive proof point.
Which brand proved it works?
Vaseline, in skincare / body lotion (Thailand). Campaign: Transition Body Lotion, Ogilvy Singapore, 2024. Sold out across many of the 670 Watsons stores at launch. 158 million impressions in Thailand. Purchase intent 725% above benchmark. Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix, Glass: The Lion for Change, and Singapore's first ever Cannes Grand Prix. jugnu's Kosh tracks 356 such patterns across Indian and global brands.
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