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First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

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

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

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. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads 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 guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

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

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities 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 believe there is absolutely a role for them.”