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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

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

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

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

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

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”