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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point 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 marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

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

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”