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

Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok 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.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“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.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”