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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 obvious target for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in 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 noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, 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

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”