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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media 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 reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media 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 consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”