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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? 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 mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”