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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots 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 dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

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 participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

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 consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”