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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” 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 talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with numerous influencers to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “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 think there’s 100% a place for them.”