🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to 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 big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”