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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips 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.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

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 shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”