Vaseline has rolled out a campaign, ‘Don’t let fakes get under your skin’, to tackle the rise of counterfeit body oils.

Conceptualised by Leo Singapore, the campaign film features Prince Chris Okagbue, who plays on the widely recognised ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam trope. Acknowledging the stereotype, he identifies himself as the real deal before spotlighting the issue of counterfeit skincare products. The narrative showcases him discarding a seemingly authentic bottle of Vaseline after revealing it to be fake, before introducing the brand's authenticator tool as a solution. 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Chris Okagbue (@chris_okagbue)

The campaign introduces the Vaseline Authenticator, a WhatsApp-based tool that allows consumers to verify the authenticity of the brand's product in seconds. Users can scan a QR code or click on a link to open a WhatsApp chat, where the “Prince’s assistant” prompts them to upload images of the product. The tool then confirms whether the product is genuine or counterfeit. 

Set against the backdrop of a growing counterfeit goods market, the campaign highlights the risks posed by unregulated and potentially harmful skincare products, while offering a simple verification mechanism built on a platform widely used by consumers globally.

What we think about it: An idea brilliant in its simplicity that takes a familiar internet joke of the ‘Nigerian prince’ scam, and flips it into a device for building trust! Casting a real Nigerian prince is, of course, the masterstroke here, that instantly grabs attention and sticks. WhatsApp being part of  the solution makes it both accessible and scalable. All in all, it’s a neat blend of storytelling and function - one that doesn’t just highlight the problem, but actually solves for it.

CREDITS

Brand: Vaseline
Shazan Zahir - Head of Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever International
Anirban Mullick - Head of Sales Africa, Unilever International
Ibidare Adegunle - Business Development Manager, Unilever International - Nigeria
Xingyun Tan - Assistant Brand Manager, Unilever International
Janson Tan - Marketing, Unilever International
Creative Agency: Leo Singapore
Chief Creative Officer: Ajay Vikram
Group Executive Creative Director: Asheen Naidu
Creative Technologist: Sergey Mast
Creative Director: Boston Ho, Eugene Yow
Head of Integrated Creative & Production Services: Bettina Feng
Senior Integrated Producer: Isabelle Lee
Client Partner: Melissa Tee
Group Planning Director: Valerie Wang
Lead PR Partner: MSL Singapore, Alicia Thong - General Manager
Production Company: Ama Psalmist Visuals, Prodigious
Production House: Ama Psalmist Visuals
Head of Production/Producer: Michael ‘AMA Psalmist’ Akinrogunde
Co-Producer: Abraham Christiana
Director: Ibidunni Oladayo
Photographer: Ryan Alabi
Director of Photography: Granville Wilson
Production Designer: Chris Udomi
Assistant Director: Fasunhan Oluwatosin
Post Production: Amos Tan, Jackson Toh, Prodigious
Colourist: Kyle Stroebel
Audio Post: FVSE