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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”