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Originally found over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling 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 focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role 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 about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”