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What is the story about?
Once in a blue moon does a 154-year-old petroleum jelly conglomerate have a better week on the internet than most pop stars. This was one of those weeks, and we have a Korean skincare creator to thank for it.
Min Day, a beauty and skincare influencer with 1.1 million followers on Instagram and 730,000 on TikTok, filmed herself talking through her Vaseline shelf. Korean doesn't have a "V" sound, so every mention came out "Baseline" instead. Thirty-six million views later, half of TikTok was saying it her way on purpose, because nothing spreads faster online than a bit everyone can do without leaving their bedroom.
Most heritage brands, faced with millions of people mispronouncing them into a punchline, would issue a statement reminding everyone that the "V" is, in fact, very much there. Vaseline, the Unilever-owned brand that's been sitting in medicine cabinets since 1872, instead did the smarter, funnier thing: it changed its own name.
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The UK, Indian, and Korean Instagram accounts swapped their display names to "Baseline" overnight, followed by a press release with the energy of a group chat: "Following extensive review (by which we mean approximately one video, watched over 1 million times, facts)", rebrand effective immediately. Min Day was named CEO of Baseline without an no interview, a title she accepted graciously online with a "Thank you very, very much," online.
Vaseline didn't correct the "mistake." It let a real quirk of the Korean language sit at the center of a global campaign instead of quietly editing it out. In India, the brand is run by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the Mumbai-headquartered arm of Unilever. The India Instagram account is now running a "Vaseline-Verified Hijack Icon" contest, inviting fans to make their own Baseline content for a chance to win, turning a one-off pronunciation joke into an ongoing, participatory bit across a brand with a presence in more than 70 countries.
Is it marketing? Obviously. Is it also, somehow, a genuinely good bit? Also obviously. Baseline it is, then.
Min Day, a beauty and skincare influencer with 1.1 million followers on Instagram and 730,000 on TikTok, filmed herself talking through her Vaseline shelf. Korean doesn't have a "V" sound, so every mention came out "Baseline" instead. Thirty-six million views later, half of TikTok was saying it her way on purpose, because nothing spreads faster online than a bit everyone can do without leaving their bedroom.
Most heritage brands, faced with millions of people mispronouncing them into a punchline, would issue a statement reminding everyone that the "V" is, in fact, very much there. Vaseline, the Unilever-owned brand that's been sitting in medicine cabinets since 1872, instead did the smarter, funnier thing: it changed its own name.
Also read: Amazon joins YouTube Shopping affiliate programme, opening new earning route for US creators
The UK, Indian, and Korean Instagram accounts swapped their display names to "Baseline" overnight, followed by a press release with the energy of a group chat: "Following extensive review (by which we mean approximately one video, watched over 1 million times, facts)", rebrand effective immediately. Min Day was named CEO of Baseline without an no interview, a title she accepted graciously online with a "Thank you very, very much," online.
Vaseline didn't correct the "mistake." It let a real quirk of the Korean language sit at the center of a global campaign instead of quietly editing it out. In India, the brand is run by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the Mumbai-headquartered arm of Unilever. The India Instagram account is now running a "Vaseline-Verified Hijack Icon" contest, inviting fans to make their own Baseline content for a chance to win, turning a one-off pronunciation joke into an ongoing, participatory bit across a brand with a presence in more than 70 countries.
Is it marketing? Obviously. Is it also, somehow, a genuinely good bit? Also obviously. Baseline it is, then.
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