🔗 Share this article

First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Hailed 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 prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

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 legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”