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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

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 derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

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

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

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

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers 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 people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow 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.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit 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 TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments 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 believe there is absolutely a role for them.”