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Originally found more than 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 thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders 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 stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps 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. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”