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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks 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 validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

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

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”