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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with a multitude of digital 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 they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”