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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered 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, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

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 sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? 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.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”