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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, 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 Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with numerous influencers to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role 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. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”