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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part 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 the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”