‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

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

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, 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

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”