Editor's Pick
Baseline: Vaseline turned Min Day Lee’s pronunciation into a global rebrand
By Ridhi
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4 min readAI-assisted
Quick summary
The idea: Korean creator Min Day Lee went viral for pronouncing Vaseline as Baseline due to how English words with a V sound are naturally adapted in Korean.
The execution: Vaseline embraced the mispronunciation by updating its global social media accounts to read Baseline, releasing a mock corporate statement, giving Lee the title of CEO of Baseline, and launching an interactive contest in India called VaselineHijacked.
Why it matters: The campaign demonstrated how a 150-year-old brand could authentically participate in an organic internet meme, celebrating global language differences and centering the original creator rather than trying to manufacture the moment.
AI-generated from this article. For complete context and credits, read the full story.
Korean creator Min Day Lee was showing off her enormous Vaseline collection when one detail became more interesting than the products themselves. Every time she said the brand name, it sounded like “Baseline.”
The video travelled quickly, people started repeating the pronunciation, and Vaseline decided not to correct anyone. Instead, a 150-year-old skincare brand temporarily became Baseline.
What began as one creator saying Vaseline her way soon spread across the brand’s accounts around the world.
Min Day Lee accidentally gave Vaseline a new name
Lee’s original video was simply a tour through the Vaseline products she owned. Mini tubs appeared on her fingers. Larger lotions and jars followed. Throughout the video, she kept calling the brand “Baseline.”
People noticed immediately.
Lee later posted another video explaining the pronunciation. Korean does not have a native “V” sound, so English words beginning with V can naturally be adapted using a sound closer to B.
That explanation made the meme even better. “Baseline” was not a random mistake. It was simply Vaseline travelling through another language.
Vaseline joined the comments early. Soon, its regional accounts were there too.
Then Vaseline accounts around the world became Baseline
The joke moved beyond the comment section when Vaseline started changing its own identity.
International accounts replaced their usual profile pictures with versions reading “Baseline.” Vaseline India went with “Basseline.” Vaseline Korea, the UK account and the global account all joined the switch.
The UK page then made the change official, at least for the joke.
Its mock corporate statement announced that after an “extensive review,” which meant watching approximately one viral video, Vaseline would become Baseline effective immediately.
The product was staying exactly the same. Same tub. Same jelly. Only the first letter had changed.
Then the statement gave the joke a bigger reason to exist.
A mispronunciation became proof of how far the brand had travelled
Vaseline has been sold around the world for more than 150 years. Over that time, its name has naturally passed through different languages, accents and pronunciations.
The brand decided to celebrate that rather than correct it.
Its statement framed every local version of Vaseline as evidence of how widely the jar had travelled. Lee was given full credit for the discovery and jokingly appointed “CEO of Baseline,” effective immediately and with no interview required.
That turned a pronunciation meme into something much warmer. The brand was laughing with the creator without treating the way she spoke as the joke.
Vaseline UK even invited other pronunciations into the conversation.
India turned Baseline into a contest
Vaseline India pushed the moment further with #VaselineHijacked.
Instead of simply changing its profile picture and moving on, the account invited people to create their own versions of “Basseline,” tag Vaseline India and post them using the hashtag.
The top 50 entries would be named Vaseline-certified “Hijack Icons” and receive prizes.
A creator-led joke had now become a format the audience could participate in.
That is where the story became much bigger than the original reel. One person pronounced the name differently. Global Vaseline accounts changed their logos. The UK appointed her CEO. India turned it into a creator challenge.
What Made It Different
Vaseline did not manufacture the meme, and that is probably why the response felt so natural.
The brand noticed something people were already enjoying and gave them more of it without trying to take ownership away from the person who started it.
Min Day Lee remained at the centre of the story. Vaseline simply made the joke official.
One creator said Vaseline her way, and a 150-year-old brand changed its name around the world to match her.
Credits
Baseline (2026) — Vaseline / Unilever, global social activation. Original creator: Min Day Lee (@mindaylee_). Vaseline India extension: #VaselineHijacked.
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