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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, 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 seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers 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 digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”