🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“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.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating 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 consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. 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.”