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Originally found over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to 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 allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”