🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”