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First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow 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 watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”