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Vaseline renames itself to ‘Baseline’; plays along after Korean content creator's viral video garners 36 million views
Vaseline, now humorously rebranded as 'Baseline' due to a viral Instagram video by Min Day Lee, celebrates diverse pronunciations globally.
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There's an overload of content and information all around today. To stand out from the crowd, thus is a herculean task. Brands who understand this well embrace social media with open arms, and the latest example is proof.
The humble Vaseline found itself trending unexpectedly, all because of a Korean skincare content creator, Min Day Lee. An Instagram video posted on her page, showing off her Vaseline collection went viral, primarily because of the pronunciation of the brand name as ‘Baseline’. Check it out here:
As the video gained traction, it reached the company itself, who decided to join in the fun. They took to Instagram and announced that they are rebranding themselves to ‘baseline’, exactly how the creator had pronounced it. Vaseline's India and UK Instagram pages have since changed their display pictures to the new name.
The UK page even issued a statement, "Following extensive review (by which we mean approximately one video, watched over 1 million times, facts), Vaseline would like to announce our rebrand. Welcome to Baseline, effective immediately. Same tub, Same jelly. Same uses you've been making up since 1870. Just, as it turns out, a slightly different first letter depending on where in the world you're saying it. Because that's really what this week is about. Vaseline has been pronounced, adapted, and made local in every corner of the world for 150 years. Every accent, every version, every "wrong" way of saying it is just proof of how far the jar has traveled. This week, we're celebrating one of those versions properly."
They went on to give “Full credit” to @mindaylee_for the discovery, “who we have taken the liberty of appointing as the CEO of Baseline, effective immediately, no interview required. To everyone stitching, duetting, or simply enjoying watching a 150 year old brand get gently corrected by its own global community: welcome. We're here for it. We might even learn something.”
Not just the comments, the trend of pronouncing it Baseline has also caught on with reel creators.
