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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

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

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective 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 … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”