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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, 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 spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

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

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow 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 permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”