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First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization 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 noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting 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 communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”