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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform 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 devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”