The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2024–2025
Vaseline's Transition Body Lotion makes hormone-therapy skin care a product line
98% of Thai transgender women could not find suitable skincare, so Vaseline co-created a clinically proven lotion — it became the #2 premium variant.
Vaseline (Unilever) · Ogilvy Singapore
What it had to solve
Vaseline's brand power and emotional connection were slipping, and the company's purpose — healthy skin for everyone — ignored a measurable gap: in Thailand, home to one of the world's largest transgender populations, 98 percent of transgender women struggled to find suitable skincare products for the skin changes of hormone therapy.
How it works
Vaseline built its purpose on 'healthy skin for everyone', yet transgender women were invisible to the beauty industry: in Thailand, home to one of the world's largest transgender populations, 98 percent of transgender women could not find suitable products for the skin changes caused by hormone therapy, and many improvised with men's and women's products.
The agency's response to the communication brief was a product rather than a film. Over two years Vaseline and Ogilvy Singapore listened to transgender women in focus groups, interviews and surveys, then worked with dermatologists and gender-affirmation specialists to develop the Transition Body Lotion — the world's first clinically proven skincare product designed by and for transgender women, formulated with niacinamide and isoflavones to address dryness, dullness and hyperpigmentation.
Launched on International Transgender Day of Visibility at Watsons, the lotion sold out in many of the chain's 670 Thai stores, drew 158 million impressions and 100 percent positive sentiment, and lifted purchase intent 725 percent above benchmark. Commercially it became the second-largest variant in Vaseline's premium range within six months, with a reported 1.55:1 return on investment — proof that serving an ignored community was also a growth strategy.
Why it lands
- The insight was structural — 98 percent of Thai transgender women had no suitable option — so the fix had to be a product, not a promise.
- Two years of co-creation with the community gave the formula credibility no campaign message could claim.
- Launching in Watsons' 670 stores put the product where the intended users already shopped, removing the barrier of finding it.
- Clinically proven efficacy and community endorsement created trust, and the premium positioning gave Vaseline a new growth tier.
What it did
The launch earned 158 million impressions in Thailand, sold out in many Watsons stores, lifted purchase intent 725 percent above benchmark and drew 100 percent positive sentiment. Within six months the lotion became the second-largest variant in Vaseline's premium range, and the case reported a 1.55:1 return on investment alongside gains in brand power, penetration and value share.
What you can take
When a community is structurally underserved, the strongest brand move is not a message about caring — it is a product that fixes the gap, co-created with the people who live it.
Since then
The lotion became the second-largest variant in Vaseline's premium range and drove gains in brand power, penetration and value share at a reported 1.55:1 return on investment. The work won a Silver at the 2024 London International Awards for creative strategy and Best of Discipline in IP and Product Design at the 2025 One Show, with four Gold Pencils. Vaseline's global brand director made the agency's product proposal the lesson — when a product fits the brand's purpose, build it — and the campaign became a reference point for inclusive product innovation in beauty.
Sources
- Vaseline, Ogilvy SG create lotion for trans women
- Unilever: Transition Body Lotion (case study)
- Vaseline: Vaseline transition body lotion (case record)
- LIA 2024 Silver — Creative Strategy: Transition Body Lotion
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