‘Digital Eavesdropping’: The Consumer Goods Giant Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

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

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”