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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

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

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

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.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”