🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”