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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance 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 sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, 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.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

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

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 television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with a multitude of digital 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 their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions 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 TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”