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First identified more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency 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.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media 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 growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments 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.”