🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been dubbed “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 heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”