‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? 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 mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

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

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”