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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “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, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

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

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. 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.”