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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” 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 discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

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 social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”