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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed 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 approach indicates profound shifts happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”