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First identified over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”