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First identified 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 thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

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

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”