‘Digital Eavesdropping’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in traditional media advertising. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”