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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, commercial funding for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs 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 digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, 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 broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”