🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure 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 communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”