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Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, 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 spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

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

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”