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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

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

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences 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 creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”