🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

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 participating on platforms “without killing the party” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

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 consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”