The archive · PR & Stunts · Marketing decision · 2024–2025
Vaseline Indonesia's sunscreen ambassador with albinism shows every skin needs protection
Facing sliding sales, Vaseline Indonesia named a woman with albinism its sunscreen ambassador — #LampauiMatahari won Citra Pariwara Gold.
Vaseline (Unilever)
What it had to solve
In high-UV Indonesia, sunscreen should be essential, yet Vaseline was losing market share and brand sentiment in a beauty market dominated by flawless-skin ambassadors. The insight: the most credible sunscreen advocate would be someone whose skin truly demands protection — a person with albinism.
How it works
In Indonesia, where the UV index regularly reaches extreme levels, sunscreen is a genuine health product — yet Vaseline's share and brand sentiment were declining inside a beauty market that sold perfect, light skin. VML Indonesia's answer was to stop showing aspirational skin and start showing necessary protection.
Vaseline appointed a woman with albinism as the brand ambassador for its sunscreen under the banner #LampauiMatahari ('beyond the sun'). Her sun-sensitive skin made SPF visibly essential rather than cosmetic, and her story let the brand talk about protection without the usual beauty-filter fantasy.
The campaign lived on Instagram @vaselineid as purpose-led content: education about daily SPF for the general audience, and messages designed to strengthen self-esteem among people with albinism, who rarely see themselves reflected in skincare advertising.
Juries rewarded the idea's honesty: the work took Gold in Citra Pariwara for Good at Citra Pariwara 2024, Gold and Silver at the MMA Smarties Indonesia 2025 awards, and an AME Awards shortlist. An academic case study of the campaign found it raised brand engagement and supported confidence-building in the albinism community.
Why it lands
- A woman with albinism is living proof that sun protection matters, so the ambassador's credibility did the arguing that no product claim could.
- In a market that sells flawless-skin fantasy, showing real, vulnerable skin was a deliberate point of difference that made the brand stand out.
- Rethinking beauty standards gave the campaign a social purpose, so people shared it as a statement rather than dismissing it as an ad.
- Purpose-led content tailored to different audiences let one ambassador serve both mass education and genuine community support.
What it did
The campaign became one of Indonesia's most celebrated purpose works of the season: Gold in the Citra Pariwara for Good category at Citra Pariwara 2024, Gold and Silver at the MMA Smarties Indonesia 2025 awards across Diversity & Inclusive Excellence and Creator/Influencer Marketing, plus an AME Awards shortlist. A University of Bakrie case study found the Instagram content lifted engagement and helped build self-confidence among people with albinism.
What you can take
Choose your proof over your prettiest face: when a product exists because of a real need, the most persuasive ambassador is someone who lives that need visibly and proudly.
Since then
The #LampauiMatahari campaign ran through 2024 and kept collecting recognition into 2025, including Citra Pariwara's Citra Pariwara for Good Gold, MMA Smarties Indonesia Gold and Silver, and an AME Awards shortlist published by Warc in November 2025. It also became a reference point in Indonesian marketing education, studied as a case of social-purpose branding where inclusion and brand recovery were treated as the same job.
Sources
- Vaseline: If My Skin Can, Yours Can
- MMA Smarties Business Impact Index — VML Indonesia 2025 rankings detail
- Citra Pariwara 37: A celebration showcasing the potential of Indonesia's creative industries
- Content marketing via Instagram @vaselineid in raising brand engagement and self-esteem on albinism (#LampauiMatahari 2024)
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