HUL’s Lifebuoy expands to skin protection with SRK in a new ad

For the longest time, HUL’s soap brand Lifebuoy had touted its germ-fighting abilities. “Lifebuoy hai jahan, Tandurusti hai waha" (Lifebuoy is where there is health) goes its iconic jingle.

But all that changed in 2025 when it repositioned itself with the skin protection category. “Citing declining sales in the ‘hygiene soap’ segment, a top executive at HUL said that Lifebuoy will now be positioned within the broader ‘skin protection’ category, moving beyond its traditional ‘germ protection’ focus,” wrote Mint in a February report.

Lifebuoy & Shah Rukh Khan :) Wow!

Super Interesting Collab, one Again!

Remember @iamsrk breaking the clutter for them earlier, by sitting in the bath-tub for Lux?

Good to see an iconic brand expanding its proposition from health to skin!

Whether there will be takers for… pic.twitter.com/5UWA79pl3F

— Mangalam Maloo (@blitzkreigm) March 6, 2025

Less than a month after this report, Lifebuoy released its first ad for its skin protection positioning with actor Shah Rukh Khan. Made by MullenLowe Lintas Group, we see Shah Rukh Khan wearing a bathrobe inside the bathroom – maybe he’s just stepped outside from the bathtub and all the actresses surrounding him from the 2005 Lux ad – and incorrectly sings the Lifebuoy jingle. It's by design because he then goes on to reveal the new positioning.

Funnily enough, as Khan spills out the new positioning, there is a transition from a bathroom to a clinic and two models dressed in lab coats announce that the soap brand’s skin protection ability is dermatologically proven.