Vaseline Turns Marathon Misery Into Friction-Fighting Campaign with "The Nipple Sponsorship"

Apr. 28, 2026

​Ogilvy has unveiled Spain Vaseline’s campaign ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’, focused on raising awareness of the importance of protecting sensitive areas from friction during sports practice.

A study conducted by the brand in the UK revealed a powerful insight: one of runners’ main concerns is chafing, with 92% confirming they usually suffer from it, 67% stating that this friction leads to bleeding, and one in three locating it in the nipple area.

To draw attention to this issue in Spain, the dermatological care brand has adapted the concept into an integrated campaign across PR, influencer marketing and out-of-home advertising under the slogan “Friction doesn’t breed affection”, using the Zurich Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Madrid 2026 marathon, held on Sunday, April 26, as the central platform for its main activations in Spain.

The line ”Friction doesn’t breed affection” reinterprets the Spanish saying “el roce hace el cariño”, which suggests that closeness builds affection, by turning it on its head to highlight how, in long-distance running, friction can instead lead to discomfort and injury.

The campaign is rooted in Vaseline’s positioning within high-performance skincare contexts, as well as in the multiple uses attributed to its most iconic product, Original Vaseline Protecting Jelly, with over 150 years of history, which the brand is now verifying one by one.

Runners, for example, use the product to prevent and treat areas exposed to chafing during long-distance races -such as hands, feet, inner thighs, nipples and clothing lines- thanks to a formula based on a triple purification process that forms a protective barrier, helping to reduce friction and maintain the skin’s natural moisture.

The brand set out to validate this hack, leading to the creation of ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ campaign, built on the idea of sponsoring runners’ nipples throughout the marathon season, which has already taken the brand to races in Tokyo, Caracas, Singapore, London, Barcelona and Madrid.

The first activation around this concept took place in Barcelona on March 15, through a collaboration with a running club where the campaign’s key messages were introduced and early buzz was generated around the suitability of the iconic Vaseline Original Protecting Jelly for runners.

The core of the launch in Spain has been the partnership between Vaseline and the Zurich Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Madrid 2026, through which the brand positioned itself as an official partner of this major sporting event, one of the highlights of the national calendar, with 48 editions to date and 47,000 runners taking to the streets of the capital.

Within the framework of the race, multiple PR and influencer marketing actions were carried out in real usage contexts. Ahead of the competition, Vaseline was present for two days with a stand at the Runner’s Expo, held at IFEMA, where the campaign reached thousands of attendees and product was distributed: more than 10,000 units of Original Vaseline Protecting Jelly and over 3,000 branded bottles.

In addition, on Saturday, April 25, Vaseline sponsored a pre-marathon training session in collaboration with sports brand Back Current, which produced the technical ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ t-shirts, and the triathlon and running school Triboost Club. Marathon professionals provided expert advice during an outdoor training session at the nearby Parque de Santander for thirty runners wearing Vaseline gear, followed by a more relaxed and celebratory after-run event.

On race day, Sunday, April 26, Vaseline supported participants in a high physical-demand environment, where skin protection became a key factor for comfort during the race. The brand was featured on screens in the VIP area, as well as on the t-shirts of thirty runners competing across three distances (marathon, half marathon and 10K), and distributed product at two strategic points: the starting line and ten aid stations providing basic support to runners.

Finally, content generation for press and social media (through 24 profiles, user-generated content and giveaways in collaboration with like-minded sports brands such as Back Current) contributed to the brand increasing its community by more than 74%.

In addition to its presence on CTV and social media, an out-of-home campaign across buses and metro, focused on the upcoming launch in Spain of Vaseline’s Gluta-Hya body serum line, strategically took over from ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ during marathon day, ensuring continued brand exposure for those traveling on a day when public transport was key.

In summary, Vaseline’s strategies demonstrate increasingly sophisticated communication approaches that generate conversation and reinforce brand positioning, proving that when a campaign is built on real insight, it works.