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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

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

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital 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 they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”