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First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing 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, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences 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, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”