Vaseline – the unassuming petroleum jelly that has sat in our bathroom cabinets for 150 years – just hosted a glossy influencer trip to Ibiza. Yes, that Vaseline‍ In July, the venerable skincare brand flew a group of ten UK content creators to a sun-soaked Mediterranean villa dubbed “Gluta-Hya Island” to celebrate its new Gluta-Hya Serum Burst Lotion launch. The guest list read like a who’s who of British beauty and reality TV circles. Love Island alum Ella Thomas soaked up the sun (and plenty of lotion) by the pool, while beauty guru Naomi Genes kicked off day one declaring the serum her “new go-to” for glowing skin. They were joined by lifestyle influencer Hattie Bourn, who marveled at being “in Ibiza with Vaseline” for the product’s launch, and TikTok darlings like Mimii Tafara showcasing “different outfits, same Gluta-Hya glow” across the resort. Even model and YouTuber Jayde Pierce was on hand, praising the lotion’s fast-absorbing, dewy finish during the 48-hour #Vaseline getaway.

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It’s a lineup and locale you might expect from a trendy makeup start-up or a luxury skincare line – not a jar of petroleum jelly that’s been around since 1872. Which begs the question: Vaseline is doing brand trips now?? The tongue-in-cheek surprise isn’t lost on anyone. Vaseline is as basic (in a good way) as it gets – a household name you buy without a second thought. No one needed “convincing” to use Vaseline in the past; generations grew up trusting it for everything from chapped lips to squeaky door hinges. So why woo influencers with an Ibiza junket? The answer reveals a lot about how brands – even the most basic ones – are navigating the marketing and consumer landscape in 2025.

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The Vaseline Ibiza trip is a case study in the evolving influencer marketing playbook. Just a few years ago, such lavish brand trips were mostly the domain of cosmetics upstarts or fashion brands vying for clout. Lately, even heritage FMCG brands are getting in on the action as they fight to stay culturally relevant. In fact, influencer marketing is now a key pillar for big consumer goods companies – Unilever (which owns Vaseline) pledged in 2025 to work with 20 times more creators as part of a “4V” social media strategy. The influencer industry overall is booming, expected to swell to $32.5 billion by the end of 2025 – an astounding 1,800% growth since 2016. More than 64% of organizations used influencer campaigns in the past year, and nearly half of them say it’s their most successful promo strategy. In short, influencers aren’t a novelty; they’re now central to how brands reach us.

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But as mainstream as this tactic is, today’s consumers are savvier and a bit cynical. By 2024, glitzy influencer getaways were starting to wear out their welcome with the public. Many saw them as tone-deaf displays of excess – especially if they seemed unrelated to the product. One wrong move and a brand trip can trigger social media backlash for being “out of touch” or wastefully extravagant. (We all remember the eye-rolls over certain over-the-top trips in the late 2010s.) In response, brands have had to rethink the formula, making sure these trips deliver more than pretty photos – they need a story, a purpose, authenticity. Interestingly, a recent success story came from another “basic” household staple: Kerrygold butter. In May, Kerrygold invited creators on a butter-themed tour of rural Ireland (cows and all) – a trip so charming and on-message that it went viral on TikTok as a positive example‍. It proved that influencer trips can generate buzz without backlash, so long as they feel relevant and genuine.

Making Basic Brands Buzz-Worthy

Vaseline seems to be taking notes on that lesson. By framing its trip as “Gluta-Hya Island” – essentially a 3-day tropical bootcamp for achieving dewy, even-toned skin – the brand kept the focus squarely on its new product’s benefits. Sure, there were pool parties and outfit-of-the-day posts, but they always came with a dollop of lotion and a mention of achieving that #3DaysToGlow promise. The experience was engineered to produce what marketers crave most: organic-looking content that blurs the line between an ad and a personal travel diary. Each influencer’s followers got to vicariously “join” the Ibiza trip through Instagram Reels and TikToks – watching their favorite creators test and rave about Vaseline’s latest in real time. In marketing terms, Vaseline turned the top of the sales funnel into a technicolor beachfront spectacle.

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Consider how this fits into the modern consumer journey. Awareness is the first step, and nothing screams awareness like a flurry of sun-kissed posts all tagged @vaselineuk. Even a legacy brand must constantly refresh its image to stay top-of-mind. “Our feeds are saturated; partnering with creators is no longer optional – it’s how brands break through the noise,” notes a social media trends report. By having influencers live the brand for a weekend, Vaseline generated a trove of aspirational content that feels less like advertising and more like lifestyle inspiration. It’s far more compelling to see Uche Natori gleefully slathering on serum lotion before hitting an Ibiza beach club than to see a generic TV commercial about “48-hour hydration.” As Vaseline’s Global VP put it, today’s consumers respond when brands “join and engage with real conversations” about how people use their products, rather than dictating a scripted message‍.

This strategy also taps into the psychology of influence. Some marketing experts talk about the “influencer of influencers” effect – essentially, if you win over the trendsetters, they in turn set off a ripple effect among their peers and followers. By pampering a select group of creators, Vaseline not only accessed their audiences, but also indirectly signaled to other influencers (and their millions of fans) that Vaseline is a brand to watch in the beauty space. In 2025’s hyper-connected creator community, seeing fellow content creators excitedly post about a product can spark a wider chain reaction. It’s the digital age spin on word-of-mouth marketing – something Vaseline actually knows about from its very origins. (Fun fact: back in the 1870s, Vaseline’s initial popularity grew because people discovered new uses for it and told their friends, creating a word-of-mouth craze. Consider today’s TikTok buzz as the great-great-grandchild of those Victorian beauty hacks!)

Staying Relevant: Glow-Up or Go Home

Ultimately, Vaseline’s foray into Ibiza is about relevance. For a 153-year-old “undisputed beauty icon” to continue thriving, it has to capture new generations‍. That means meeting young consumers where they are – on social platforms, soaking up viral trends and “getting ready with me” videos. It’s no coincidence Vaseline recently scored 136 million views with a TikTok campaign myth-busting viral Vaseline hacks‍. The brand is leaning all the way into social-first marketing and finding clever cultural tie-ins – even partnering with HBO’s The White Lotus this year to promote a sunscreen in the Gluta-Hya line. An exotic influencer trip is another piece of that puzzle, packaging Vaseline as not just a reliable staple, but something fun, fresh, and coveted.

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And let’s face it – skincare has become as much about lifestyle as it is about lotion. Today’s beauty consumers love a “routine” and an aesthetic. By having influencers document a glamorous vacation with Vaseline in tow, the brand inserts itself into that aspirational narrative. It says: you too can have glowy “holiday skin” – our serum will virtually transport you to a Balearic island of radiance (cocktails and ocean breeze not included). It’s a smart play when “glow” is the buzzword on everyone’s lips and dewy, sun-kissed skin is the look du jour.

The Bottom Line

So, yes – even a humble, everyday brand like Vaseline is doing brand trips now. Not because we needed persuading that Vaseline works (we already know it does), but because in 2025, even old favorites must reinvent their story. The new marketing funnel isn’t just about driving sales; it’s about driving conversation and culture. By turning influencers into enthusiastic brand ambassadors in a dreamy setting, Vaseline generated the kind of authentic buzz that money alone can’t buy. The trip wasn’t really selling a £5 lotion – it was selling an attitude: that Vaseline can be part of a modern glam-girl (or guy) lifestyle, right alongside the luxe serums and trending TikTok beauty hacks.

Will we see more formerly low-key brands booking out resorts and hopping on private jets with influencers? Quite possibly. As long as the social media machine craves fresh content, brands will find inventive ways to provide it. The key is doing it in a way that feels genuine and aligned with the product. Vaseline’s Ibiza excursion, with its #GlutaHya Island motif and science-meets-sunshine messaging, shows a shrewd understanding of this balance. It’s playful and a bit cheeky – acknowledging the “wait, Vaseline is going to Ibiza?!” surprise – while ultimately reminding us that Vaseline is still about glowing, healthy skin wherever you are.

In a crowded market, even a legend like Vaseline can’t just sit on the shelf and expect to remain a staple. It has to join the party. And if that party happens to be on a beautiful island with Instagram’s finest, well, all the better for the brand’s glow-up. After all, when your glow is the best accessory, every outfit wins – a mantra Vaseline clearly took to heart, both figuratively and literally, on this very 2025 journey from the drugstore to the VIP cabana.