The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity kicked off in Cannes from Monday 16th June and runs until Friday 20th June.
On the first day of the event, Unilever’s heritage brand Vaseline scooped the prestigious Grand Prix in the Health & Wellness category for its “Vaseline Verified” campaign.
Developed by Ogilvy Singapore, the campaign triumphed over stiff competition from other personal care brands, including Unilever’s own Dove, Essity’s Bodyform, and L’Oréal’s CeraVe, as well as numerous health and pharmaceutical brands.
Debunking social media myths with science
Launched earlier this year, “Vaseline Verified” explored the often-confusing world of social media beauty hacks – some helpful, some humorous, and others potentially harmful.
The campaign featured popular Vaseline-related hacks found online, which were then tested in a laboratory by a team of scientists to determine their effectiveness.
Industry recognition & impressive analytics
Vaseline and Ogilvy Singapore were presented with the Grand Prix by president of the Health & Wellness awards jury Eric Weisberg, who is global chief creative officer at Havas Health.
“The zeitgeist of our time is health and well-being,” said Weisberg. “And this met a moment in a way that perhaps no other piece of work so completely met the moment.”
Weisberg also praised the campaign’s joyful tone and its role in addressing misinformation: “What so unified our jury is joy in the face of adversity. This work that we celebrate brings joy as an act of rebellion,” he said.
The campaign itself had achieved impressive engagement metrics and therefore resonated with audiences:
- 63.3 million social interactions
- 87% positive sentiment
- 7.1 million organic reach and views
At the 2024 Cannes Lions event, Unilever was also honoured with the Creative Marketer of the Year award, which recognised its consistent track record of producing iconic and impactful campaigns. Vaseline and Dove both also received Lions awards last year too.
The winning campaign can be viewed here.