VASELINE PETROLEUM JELLY CRICKET CAMPAIGN

TitleVASELINE PETROLEUM JELLY CRICKET CAMPAIGN
BrandVASELINE
Product / ServiceVASELINE PETROLEUM JELLY
CategoryA02. Best Use of Social Media
EntrantBBH Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:BBH Mumbai, INDIA
PR/Advertising Agency:BBH Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Raj Kamble BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Chief Creative Officer
Partha Sinha BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Managing Partner - Planning
Subhash Kamath BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Managing Partner - Account Management
Russell Barrett BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Executive Creative Director
Kunal Sawant BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Art Director
Nikhil Panjwani BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Copywriter
Dhiren Amin BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Planner
Abhishek Razdan BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Business Head
Jay Ladhani BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Account Director
Anirban Mukherjee BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Account Director
Kanika Vaid BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Account Executive
Vishal Wadhwani BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Account Executive
Paul Ward BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Managing Partner - Operations
Rajeev Roy BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Brand Partner
Arvind Krishnan BBH Communications India Pvt. Ltd. Brand Partner

The Campaign

Former English cricket team captain, Michael Vaughan’s tweet was not only an insult to one of India’s most ethical cricketers that hurt over 1 billion sentiments, but also an unnecessary allegation against Vaseline. The brand decided to respond not just on its own behalf, but also for the nation. A front-page ad addressed to Michael Vaughan was released that alerted him to all the genuine uses of Vaseline and that rubbing it on cricket bats was not one of them. It initiated a week-long social media movement that allowed users to rally behind this message by making a badge on their profile picture on Facebook for a week. The campaign was covered by numerous websites and news dailies. Over a 1,00,000 fans were added to the Facebook page in the first 3 days itself and hundreds of people added the badge to their profile picture.

The Brief

Respond to an innocuous; albeit unnecessary allegation; as a brand and as a nation. Steer the conversation around the controversy in a manner that portrayed Vaseline in positive light.

Results

Added 100,000 fans on Facebook in 3 days. And hundreds of people made the print ad itself their Facebook profile picture. Multiple articles in over 20 national dailies. Coverage and a debate on all leading TV channels and radio stations. Free coverage on blogs and sports websites. Over 50 Million Rupees in free media. Over 5000 tweets in a few hours including, a couple of bemused tweets from Mr. Vaughan himself.

Execution

We did a nationwide front-page release addressed to Michael Vaughan which educated him about the genuine multiple uses of Vaseline and the fact that rubbing it on cricket bats was not one of them. The campaign was extended into social media where we gave people an opportunity to rally behind this message by making a badge on their profile picture on Facebook for a week.

The Situation

In India, cricket is a religion and cricketers are gods. An uncomplimentary tweet by former England captain, Michael Vaughan questioning the integrity one of India’s cricketing stalwarts hurt the sentiment of the nation. The tweet generated a roaring debate across the cricketing world and, of course, in India. In a fight between two cricketers, Vaseline was unnecessarily getting dragged into the controversy. Vaseline needed to set the record straight; for just for itself but even for the nation.

The Strategy

Vaseline decided to speak up on the nation’s behalf, for Indian cricket and to steer the conversation it’s favor. Vaseline also used this controversy as an opportunity to educate people about the multiple uses of the product. The intent was to use a topical controversy to the brand’s advantage in a manner that allowed Vaseline to steer the conversation that the tweet had generated.