LONDON / SINGAPORE — 23 April 2026 — Vaseline® today announced that it will be protecting more than 100,000 nipples this weekend as the Official Nipple Protector of the TCS London Marathon. More than 59,000 participants are expected at the Start Line. This is one of numerous initiatives by Vaseline® under ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ global initiative which went live in March. The campaign has been designed to address one of long-distance running’s most common and painful issues: nipple chafing or commonly known as “runner’s nipple”.
As part of the brand’s partnership with the TCS London Marathon, Vaseline® will be giving free products to participants at the TCS London Marathon Running Show, happening April 22–25. Products will also be provided at ‘Nip Stops’ along the 26.2mile/42.195km course on event day, April 26, ensuring that participants of all levels, from first‑timers to experienced professionals, keep their eyes on the finish line while the friction is handled by Vaseline®.
‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ has and continues to support runners at major running events and local run clubs around the world across the UK, Barcelona, Madrid, Caracas, Rotterdam, Singapore, Sydney, and Hong Kong, with more set to join this list. Vaseline® will continue its commitment to ensuring every runner stays safe from the chafe throughout the 2026 season and beyond.
Nathalia Amadeu, Global Brand Director, Vaseline®, Unilever: “’The Nipple Sponsorship’ recognises a hack trusted for decades. This isn’t about one race or one city. It’s about Vaseline® showing up for every runner, on every course, at every distance, and making sure no one suffers a pain that was always preventable. We’re here to protect nipples,globally, and we’re not shy about saying it.”
There are approximately 1.1 million runners worldwide completing a marathon each year, and approximately two in long-distance runners who log more than 40 miles/65km a week suffer from chafed and bleeding nipples.
With marathon participation continuing to rise globally, many runners experience painful skin irritation caused by hours of repetitive movement. It’s a problem widely recognised within the running community, referred to as “runner’s nipple”, yet mostly overlooked in race prep, with conditioning, nutrition or hydration, often taking priority over skin protection. While experienced runners already know Vaseline® Jelly can protect against chaffed and bleeding nipples, countless first-timers remain unaware of this simple preventive hack.
To further address this burgeoning problem, Vaseline® is working with running creators around the world to sponsor their nipples, turning them into ambassadors sharing nipple care tips alongside other marathon training advice.
‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ has already spread across the running community, including creators like Johnny Morillo (@johnnymorilloo), Andrew Wheatcroft (@andrewdwheatcroft), Gregor Macdonald (@igregormac), Lee Roberts (@mrleeroberts), James Thomas(@instafudgie), Calum Harris (@calumharris), Adam Moriarty (@aa_moriarty),and Jordan Izzett (@izzettj).
Nicolas Courant, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Singapore: “The moment you say ‘Vaseline® is sponsoring nipples,’ you’ve already won the room, but the idea runs deeper than the laugh. This is a brand claiming ownership of a real, universal runner’s truth that nobody else had the courage to name out loud. Runners across the world already rely on Vaseline® for this, and now we’re making it official, everywhere, not just at a finish line.”
Created and spearheaded by Ogilvy Singapore, the campaign’s creative strategy was born from a simple truth uncovered through the award-winning ‘Vaseline® Verified’ platform: among the thousands of community-submitted hacks validated by the brand, nipple protection for runners surfaced as one of the most interesting and effective applications of Vaseline Jelly.
Aanchal Sethi, Asia Managing Unilever, Ogilvy Singapore: “Vaseline® Verified showed us the power of truly hearing what communities are saying, and what came back, loudly and consistently, was runners talking about nipple protection. That insight didn’t come from a strategy deck, it came from real people sharing real hacks across the globe. This work is the natural evolution of that: taking a community truth that already existed at scale and building a brand platform around it. When you listen this closely, the idea finds you.”
‘Vaseline® Verified’ proved which hacks work. ‘The Nipple Sponsorship’ extends a proven hack from the runner’s inner circle to the widest possible audience in one of the world’s most iconic sport events.
