🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”