🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

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 termed “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.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“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 mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering 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 are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”