‘Digital Eavesdropping’: The Consumer Goods Giant Aims to Harness Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.

First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure 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, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. 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, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Across Britain, 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

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, 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.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”