🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, 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 positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

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

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”