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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed 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.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

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 observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away 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 audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations 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 drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”