🔗 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 clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. 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 dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”