🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

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 amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots 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 shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements 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 permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”