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First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode 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”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”