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Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“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.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”