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First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

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

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers 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, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? 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 one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

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

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures 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 TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”