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

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “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, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts 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 events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”