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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin 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 thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”