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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

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 concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”