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Originally found over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok 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 advertising goods in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like 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 more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing 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 substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”