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Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. 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.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”