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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 obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

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 combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, 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 killing the party” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital 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 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. 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

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”