Creative Execution

Vaseline Men conducted a social experiment through the online video “What gets you hired?” It featured one guy with the same credentials, sporting two different looks. He went on interviews with 3 unknowing hiring managers who chose the candidate with the well-groomed look because he left a more lasting impression. Vaseline Men then encouraged people to share their opinions online by using the #PogiMatters (well-groomed looks matter) across Facebook, Twitter and via a Rappler.com poll. All these were to educate fresh graduates that when you’re neck and neck with competition, what sets you apart is making a good first impression.

The video elicited reactions and stirred passionate discussions amongst these typically passive Filipino men. They started posting their opinions on their blogs, Facebook and Twitter pages, making it the topic of primetime and morning TV shows too. Views for the Youtube video was already over 1,200,000 in just 3 weeks and the brand’s Facebook page also got an all-time high engagement rate of 71%. The campaign effectively generated a total of $499,540 worth of earned media, helping it achieve 504% ROI. All these have led to a significant increase in sales for the brand by a whopping 36%.

Studies show that only 1 in 10 Filipino men use face care products because they don’t find it necessary. They let the women in their lives buy them these, and end up using whatever is already available at home - which is usually brands for women. For years, this challenge plagued brands like Vaseline Men, which was specifically designed for men’s skin cleansing needs. So in 2014, Vaseline Men faced this challenge head on. The brand took a deeper look into today’s young Filipino’s psyche and found that the burning motivation for them was actually simple - to land a good job. However, job-hunting in the Philippines is a highly competitive space. Getting ahead is not as easy as ensuring you have good credentials. This led to the insight that in a competitive market, when credentials are all the same, having a well-groomed look can actually be one’s advantage.