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Originally found over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”