‘Digital Eavesdropping’: Unilever Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, 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 remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”