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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes 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.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

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.”