First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.
Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.
Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.
It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.
Spotting its digital renaissance, 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 given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.
Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.
This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.
A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.
“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.
“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.
“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”
This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.
This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.
Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.
An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.
“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”
He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.
The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.
Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.
She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”
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