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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator 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 engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim 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 transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences 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.

“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 targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part 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 events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”