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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

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

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”