Vaseline has temporarily given itself a hilarious new name after a Korean skincare creator’s pronunciation of the brand went viral on social media.
The skincare giant is now jokingly calling itself “Baseline”, following a viral Instagram video from Korean content creator Min Day Lee, who showed off her collection of Vaseline products while repeatedly pronouncing the brand name as “Baseline.” The video has amassed more than 36 million views, turning the pronunciation into an unexpected internet meme.
The pronunciation is not simply a random mistake. In a follow-up video, Lee explained that Korean does not have a native “v” sound, meaning English words containing the sound can be adapted to something closer to a “b” sound. As a result, her pronunciation of Vaseline naturally came out sounding like “Baseline.”
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As the video spread, viewers began repeating “Baseline” in comments and their own social media posts, with the altered name quickly becoming part of the joke.
Rather than correct the pronunciation, Vaseline decided to join in.
The brand’s UK Instagram account posted a mock “official statement” announcing that it had undergone an “extensive review”, joking that the review consisted of watching “approximately one video” that had been viewed more than a million times.
“Welcome to Baseline, effective immediately,” the company declared. It added that it was still the “same tub, same jelly”, with only the first letter changing depending on how people around the world pronounce the name.
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Vaseline also turned the joke into a celebration of the different ways its name has been pronounced around the world, saying the brand has been “pronounced, adapted and made local” across different communities for around 150 years.
The company gave Lee full credit for the viral moment and even jokingly appointed her “CEO of Baseline”, saying she got the position without an interview.
Vaseline’s social media accounts have continued embracing the joke, with the Indian account encouraging users to create their own content around the “Baseline” name and the viral trend.
What began as a pronunciation difference has therefore turned into an example of a brand successfully turning an unexpected social media moment into a marketing opportunity. Instead of distancing itself from the meme, Vaseline has leaned into it, giving millions of viewers another reason to talk about a product that has been around for generations.
