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First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

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

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”