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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever 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 sting of chili on the mouth were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad 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 just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers spending more time on social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”