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First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence 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 promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips 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 revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

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

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

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

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”