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First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on 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 saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

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 gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance 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 events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”