Vaseline’s innovative ‘Kikay like Emily’ campaign won gold in CPG/FMCG and Digital Commerce at The Drum Awards for Marketing, leveraging influencer partnerships and social commerce to redefine modern lip care, capturing market share and elevating brand image.
The Philippine lip care market is sizable and expanding rapidly, growing at an estimated 7–8% CAGR in recent years. This robust expansion is driven by increasing beauty consciousness, a growing population of working women, and heightened demand for natural and organic formulations. The overall “lip cosmetics” segment, which includes both balms and makeup, is projected to reach record highs by 2030, reflecting a decade of sustained growth.
For Vaseline, the challenge is an exciting opportunity to scale new heights and establish its status as a trendy, relevant, and trusted lip care brand. Elevating a widely trusted brand from its heritage into a modern, aspirational beauty essential requires a strategic approach and a forward-looking mindset.
This campaign is built on robust influencer partnerships, agile social media engagement, and the strategic use of social commerce channels. The goal is to forge new emotional connections with a digitally savvy, beauty-conscious audience while retaining the brand’s core promise of superior hydration. In doing so, Vaseline not only captures market share but also elevates its brand image in a competitive, rapidly evolving landscape where consumer trust and modern appeal are paramount.
Our target audience is modern Filipina Gen Z—women aged 18-24 who are actively redefining what it means to be feminine. For generations, Filipino culture has upheld the “mahinhin” ideal—a Tagalog term for demure, modest, and reserved—epitomized by figures like Maria Clara and reflected in the understated, untinted lip care products of the past. Yet in August 2024, TikTok’s viral “demure” trend, sparked by Jools Lebron’s satirical videos, turned the term into a global meme. While international audiences found playful irony in the trend, local Filipinas saw “demure” as a stark reminder of an outdated, confining beauty standard they are eager to leave behind.
In its place, these young women embrace a “kikay” identity—a bold, confident, and unapologetic expression of self. For lips—an essential canvas of self-expression—this means shifting away from muted, utilitarian formulations toward products that serve as a filter for bold identity.
This is our insight: Modern Filipinas see traditional, muted lip care—designed for quiet hydration—as a relic of an outdated, demure ideal. They crave a bold, expressive product that transforms their lips into a true 'kikay' statement of vibrant, unapologetic self-expression.
The big idea: Kikay like Emily – inspiring modern Filipinas to say “oui” to bold, tinted lip balms where hydration meets the adventure of self-expression and je ne sais quoi.
Our campaign was built on a meticulously planned, multi-channel strategy that transformed Vaseline’s lip care narrative into a bold, expressive movement—one perfectly timed with the global release of Emily in Paris on August 15, 2024. The strategic big idea, “Kikay like Emily,” was developed to reposition a legacy product by merging trusted hydration with modern, tinted expression. Here’s how we brought this idea to life:
Aligned with the premiere of Emily in Paris, our initial phase was a social-first, influencer-led activation on TikTok and Instagram—platforms that are integral to Filipina Gen Z’s digital ecosystem. We curated a mix of macro influencers, known for their trendsetting “kikay” style, and micro influencers who resonated with everyday beauty routines. These influencers showcased teaser content and unboxing experiences that emphasized the product’s dual promise: Vaseline’s 24-hour hydration combined with bold, expressive, tinted color.
We also leveraged a custom TikTok filter designed to let users emulate Emily’s chic Parisian flair, further engaging our digitally savvy audience. This interactive element not only amplified social shares but also created an organic buzz that laid the groundwork for our scarcity-driven tactics. In this phase, we released a limited drop exclusively on Shopee and TikTok Shop, creating immediate urgency.
In the days following the initial launch, we intensified our scarcity approach. We strategically released a set number of pieces on TikTok Shop daily—designed to evoke FOMO among our audience. This controlled availability, paired with dynamic influencer content and user-generated challenges, fueled ongoing conversation and engagement. Our creative messaging during this phase was anchored in the rejection of muted, demure beauty, positioning the new tinted lip balm as a tool for vibrant self-expression.
As the global “demure” trend reached its peak, we pivoted to create a counter conversation in September. Our creative executions during this phase juxtaposed imagery of traditional, muted lip care with visuals that celebrated the bold, “kikay” spirit. By doing so, we directly challenged the old norms, positioning our product as the antithesis to demureness.
To maximize impact, we scaled our media buy during the season finale of Emily in Paris on September 15. This period was strategically chosen to leverage the heightened cultural conversation around the show and its influence on beauty trends. Our ads were placed across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, targeting 60% of the beauty interest group. The focus was on sparking a counter-narrative—one that invited consumers to embrace vibrant self-expression rather than conform to traditional, muted standards.
During the campaign period, our integrated strategy drove the following results:
We generated over 90 million impressions, more than 3 million clicks, and 9 million video views, with an ad recall rate of +5.0% through our PH Global TikTok Media Campaign. This widespread exposure confirmed that our messaging resonated deeply with our target audience.
Through 180 TikTok affiliate activations, we secured over 6.2 million organic views and generated more than 200,000 engagements. These interactions underscored the authenticity and virality of our influencer-led approach, affirming that the “Kikay like Emily” narrative struck a chord with modern Filipinas.
Our social-first strategy generated significant early sales momentum. This limited drop was sold out in just 3 hours, creating immediate demand and contributing to over 36,000 pieces sold nationwide within two months. During mega sale events (9.9, 10.10, 11.11), our product was ranked as the #1 bestseller in the Lip Care category on digital commerce platforms. Notably, the volume of the Emily in Paris lip balm reached approximately 1.5 times that of its predecessor, while 200 limited-edition kits sold out online within 24 hours.
Consumer feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the product receiving an average 5 out of 5-star rating based on over 8,000 organic ratings and reviews. Furthermore, we achieved mass distribution in all Watsons outlets, including top-shelf displays in the top 40 stores and free cashier displays in over 150 outlets—an unprecedented achievement for a Unilever Lip Care product. Achieving free displays is highly significant as it demonstrates strong retailer confidence in the product’s proposition and the expected consumer demand. Additionally, Vaseline secured the #1 brand sales ranking on Shopee and Lazada in the Lip Care category for the full year.
These results are significant because they validate our consumer-centric approach. We recognized that modern Filipinas no longer identify with the muted, demure standards of traditional lip care—a relic of outdated cultural norms—and instead crave a product that boldly expresses their vibrant “kikay” identity. By integrating this powerful brand partnership with innovative, tinted lip care that redefines self-expression, we transformed a basic hydration product into a symbol of modern femininity. This strategy not only captured the attention of digitally active, empowered Filipinas but also drove tangible business outcomes, reaffirming that aligning innovation with authentic consumer sentiment can redefine market leadership in a competitive, rapidly evolving landscape.