🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“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 talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

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

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”