🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered 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.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance 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 providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency 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 consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”