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First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes 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 drops in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”