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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. 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, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations 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 permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments 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.”